Liverpool played hosts to Chelsea as the Blues looked to end the season on a high. Things got off to a good start as Chelsea opened the scoring through a sublime Eden Hazard run and shot after Liverpool had the better of the opening chances. Liverpool came out strongly in the second half but were unable to score until the second minute of the injury time when Christian Benteke netted a tap-in after Asmir Begovic failed to deal with a Sheyi Ojo cross as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Let’s have a look at the player ratings.
Liverpool:
Simon Mignolet – 6/10
Simon Mignolet made some crucial saves but did not look confident and made some glaring errors which luckily did not cost Liverpool much.
Nathaniel Clyne – 6.5/10
Nathaniel Clyne was given a run around by Eden Hazard who seemed really up for the game. Clyne looked to hold his ground but seemed to be struggling at times.
Dejan Lovren– 6/10
Dejan Lovren made some crucial interceptions and blocks and tried his best to drive the team on. He was solid overall, except for the occasions when likes of Hazard and Pedro drove at him.
Kolo Toure – 7/10
Kolo Toure looked really solid except for the goal and made some crucial interjections at important junctures. He often went about cleaning up after Mignolet parried and even had a golden chance to level the game up from a corner but missed. Overall, he had a solid game.
Alberto Moreno – 7/10
Alberto Moreno ran himself into the ground trying to cover the length of the pitch with his incredible runs forward. He was defensively solid too as he almost always made it back in time to deal with Pedro.
Emre Can- 5/10
Emre Can seemed very tentative from start to finish as he was often run over in midfield. He also could not produce his trademark driving runs and almost always seemed to run into a Chelsea wall when passing.
James Milner - 5/10
James Milner looked anonymous for large parts as he could not dictate the tempo of the game. He was substituted for Joe Allen later on.
Philippe Coutinho – 6/10
Philippe Coutinho tried to conjure something for this Liverpool side but fell short every time it seemed he would create some magic with the ball at his feet. He did try to pry the Chelsea defense open but was thwarted on each occasion.
Adam Lallana – 7/10
Adam Lallana offered a lot of hard work and drive. At times, his efforts outshone his fellow teammates’ attempts by a distance. Lacked a bit on the final product as his final pass or shot seemed off the mark or delayed but nearly produced an assist with an exquisite reverse pass to Daniel Sturridge who was foiled by Begovic.
Roberto Firmino – 6/10
Roberto Firmino was full of running and tried to find a way through the Chelsea defense but was largely unsuccessful. He was kept in line by an impressive Abdul Rahman.
Daniel Sturridge – 6/10
Daniel Sturridge was wasteful and should have refrained from trying to produce something spectacular when a simple pass would’ve sufficed. He came close to scoring at times but was foiled by the keeper.
Substitutes
Christian Benteke– 7/10
Christian Benteke came on in the 75th minute but immediately posed problems for Chelsea’s makeshift back line. He was good in the air and often dropped deep to collect the ball. He was at the right place at the right time to score the equalizer.
Joe Allen - 7/10
Joe Allen came on in the 75th minute and immediately offered something different from deep. He pushed the ball around quicker and was close to producing a sensational assist for the equalizer. He kept providing an outlet going forward and his passing in the final third was good.
Sheyi Ojo – 6/10
Sheyi Ojo came on in the 88th minute and offered something different to the Liverpool side in terms of pace and power. He nearly scored the equalizer from a Joe Allen cross and eventually it was his cross which led to the goal. All of this in the few minutes that he had to play.
Chelsea:
Asmir Begovic – 6/10
Asmir Begovic produced a fine display, making some excellent saves before producing a poor moment which gifted Liverpool the equalizer.
Abdul Baba Rahman – 7/10
Abdul Rahman seemed to be in complete control on the pitch as he dealt with Roberto Firmino with relative ease and gave Eden Hazard superb support going forward. His positioning and general link up play was solid.
Gary Cahill – 6/10
Gary Cahill offered sufficient protection within his backline and frustrated Liverpool’s forward line with his partner for the first half. In the second half, he did look a little off the pace as Sturridge did turn him a few times.
John Obi Mikel– 7/10
Mikel looked solid for most of the game but went completely awol for the goal. He also had a bit of trouble dealing with Sturridge in the second half as the game wore on. However, he kept his head for most of the game and nearly pulled off a great performance.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
Cesar Azpilicueta did well to contain Coutinho in wider positions and offered some support going forward but overall it was a lackluster display from the defender. Azpilicueta’s work rate and desire kept Liverpool’s attack at bay for majority of the match.
Nemanja Matic – 7/10
Nemanja Matic offered a willingness to close down spaces and was constantly at the Liverpool player’s heels. He kept closing down the Liverpool attackers and offered them little space through the middle forcing them to move into wider areas where they had little joy.
Cesc Fabregas – 6/10
Cesc Fabregas could’ve done a lot better on the night as he seemed to lose his bearings when asked to pass forward. Linked up well at times, but he had a largely frustrating game.
Willian– 6/10
Willian worked hard and seemed very disciplined going forward and defensively as well. He did not produce anything much of note but did reasonably well on the evening.
Bertrand Traore – 7/10
A very hard working performance from the youngster Bertrand Traore as he spent the night running at the Liverpool defenders with reasonable success. While he was feeding off scraps, he could’ve dealt with his few chances a little better. However, he did put in a great shift.
Pedro – 6/10
Pedro showed great appetite and effort for the game but fell short when it came to end product as he almost always found a Liverpool defender. He could’ve scored from a counter in the second half but Alberto Moreno came running back to force him to take a shot on his weaker foot which was eventually saved by Mignolet.
Eden Hazard– 9/10
Eden Hazard was head and shoulders above anyone on the pitch as he terrorized the Liverpool defense at will. He scored one of the contenders of the goal of the season as he dribbled past five players before slotting past Mignolet.
The hunger and desire which was missing for most of the season seemed to possess him as he had a great defensive work rate as well. He nearly set Chelsea on to score the second as he sliced the entire Liverpool defense with a sublime pass from the Liverpool half into the path of a running Pedro who nearly scored.
A genuine man of the match performance from the Belgian.
Substitutes
Kenedy – 6/10
Kenedy came on in the 57th minute for Willian in the second half and offered some extra guile and trickery on the pitch as he often roamed around to link up well with Eden Hazard. He did his defensive work well.
Tammy Abraham – 5/10
Tammy Abraham came on in the 75th minute and seemed to be a little isolated but held the ball well when it did come to him. He offered glimpses of his good link up play.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – N/A
Ruben Loftus-Cheek came on in the 92nd minute to run down the clock more than affect the game on the pitch.
