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Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in their first game of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
Luiz Diaz's 18th minute goal was cancel;ed out by Axel Disasi as the two English giants drew for the seventh straight game, including the third straight time in the Premier League.
The Reds started brightly, with Mohamed Salah hitting the post in the 13th minute. Another five minutes later, Diaz broke the deadlock by connecting with Salah's cross with a sliding effort.
Just before the half-hour mark, Salah appeared to have made it 2-0 for Liverpool, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR check, which showed him in an offside position in the build-up. In the 37th minute, Disasi equalised for the Blues after hooking a low effort below Alisson from a header off Ben Chillwell.
Following an end-to-end opening stanza, there was more drama to come after the break. Liverpool appeared to have won a penalty in the 53rd minute after the ball had come off Nicolas Jackson's arm, vut following a VAR check, the appeals were waved away.
Chelsea and Liverpool continued to go at each other for the rest of the half, but there were no more goals, as the two sides settled for a share of the spoils.
On that note, here are the player ratings for Liverpool:
Alisson - 7/10
No opening day clean sheet for the Liverpool star, but it still a big performance. He denied Ben Chilwell and Nicolas Jackson.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7/10
A regular supplier of long balls from behind, as always, Alexander-Arnold also effective in winning back possession. He made five clearances, too, which demonstrated his impact in defence.
Ibrahima Konate - 7/10
The Frenchman looked unsettled when Chelsea upped the ante but kept Jackson at arm's length. Konate ended the game with seven clearances, one blocked shot, two interceptions and three tackles.
Virgil van Dijk - 7.5/10
His positioning was questionable at times, but Van Dijk was effective for large swathes. He made a game-high of 11 clearances and also made three interceptions.
Andrew Robertson - 7/10
The Scotsman was beaten several times on the left flank but didn't commit any major errors that cost his team. He made seven clearances.
Dominik Szoboszlai - 6.5/10
Liverpool's big money signing of the summer was relatively quiet on his Premier League debut. He also made a poor header that eventually led to Disasi's goal.
Alexis MacAllister - 7/10
Elegant and classy on the ball while key to stitching passes together, the Argentine looked off the pace at times. He won seven of his 11 attempted ground duels and completed 41 of his 47 passes, though.
Cody Gakpo - 6/10
He made excelllent ball recoveries but couldn't add anything productive in the Reds' attack.
Mohamed Salah - 7/10
The Egyptian appeared to have doubled the Reds' advantage minutes after Diaz's opener, but it was ruled out for offside play in the build-up. Nevertheless, he bagged the assist for the first goal with a lovely cross.
Diogo Jota - 6/10
A poor start to the season for Jota, who failed to muster a single shot on target and completed only 14 passes in 66 minutes of action.
Luis Diaz - 7.5/10
He wasn't involved much but took his chance well and fired Liverpool in front.
Ratings of Liverpool substitutes against Chelsea
Darwin Nunez (66' for Jota) - 5/10
The Uruguayan was a non-factor. He needs to do more, way more, if he's to fight his way back into the XI.
Curtis Jones (66' for Gakpo) - 6/10
He shored up the midfield to prevent Chelsea from finding a late winner.
Harvey Elliott (77' for Salah) - 6.5/10
Energetic, fearless and creative, Elliott added bite to Liverpool's attacking play after coming on. Too bad that he didn't come on earlier.
Ben Doak (77' for Diaz) - 6/10
He combined well with Elliott and looked to make things happen.
