Why Liverpool’s draw with Chelsea is two points lost rather than a point gained

Anfield has surely seen far better performances than what fans of Liverpool witnessed during Saturday’s pulsating draw with Chelsea.

On any other day and under different circumstances, a 1-1 draw against the Blues would be considered a good result. However, this was far from that.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had the momentum on their side for much of the game and yet couldn’t make it count. Not even their numerical advantage counted for anything.

The Reds enjoyed a larger share of possession against Chelsea but in a top-of-the-table clash like this, a win is all that matters and Liverpool failed the test.

It ends level at Anfield.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 28, 2021

Reds held by 10-man Chelsea

In truth, Chelsea were in cruise control and never looked back following Kai Havertz’s brilliantly headed goal early in the game.

But a red card to Reece James in the dying seconds of the first half completely changed the face of the game. The Chelsea right-back seemed to have cleared Sadio Mane’s shot with his hand inside the penalty box.

After consulting VAR, referee Anthony Taylor sent off James and awarded Liverpool a penalty. Mohamed Salah stepped up and expertly converted to restore parity for the Reds. From there, Liverpool assumed control and should have made the numerical advantage count.

However, they rather got lax. Liverpool appeared to be in too much of a rush to get the second goal and the lack of composure affected their build-up.

It is, however, worth noting that Chelsea defended very well despite playing with a man short. However, the onus lay with Liverpool to win and they fluffed their lines.

Jürgen Klopp enjoyed the intensity of our fiercely competitive draw with Chelsea and felt the Reds could have made more of the numerical advantage in the second half 👇

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 28, 2021

Liverpool drop two points

The result is great for Chelsea and their fans, but for Liverpool, though, it is more of a two-point loss than a point gained.

The Reds could, and should, have done better against the 10-man Blues and Klopp knows this better than anyone, as admitted in his post-match press conference.

“We could have done better for sure, but it’s early in the season, you need this one moment where you can get through, where you can finish it off,” the German manager said, as quoted by Liverpoolfc.com.

“We had our finishes, we had good football moments, we tried everything, we defended their potential counter-attacks most of the time really well.

“Sometimes we had to run a bit further to catch them again but we did. Chelsea put a proper shift in as well, you have to say, I respect that. So it’s a draw, just take the point and carry on.”

Liverpool have missed a big chance to move two points clear of their rivals. As it stands, the Reds sit level on points with Chelsea, while Manchester United could join them on seven points if they win their game against Wolverhampton on Sunday.

A 1-1 draw is never the worst result but, under the circumstances, Liverpool lost two points that should have remained at Anfield.