Calum McFarlane insisting Chelsea are not a broken club before this trip to Liverpool was a little like that internet meme, the one where the cartoon dog is sitting at a table, having a cuppa, in the middle of a room on fire. ‘This is fine’ he says, ignoring the chaos surrounding him.
They were facing a seventh successive league loss, which would have equalled a 74-year-old club record. There were rumours swirling of handbags being had between players at the training ground, though these claims have been strenuously denied by the club. They were staring at missing out on European football entirely for next season, let alone only the Champions League.
But the few thousand fans who still bothered travelling to Liverpool finally saw their side show some overdue fight. Enzo Maresca, then Liam Rosenior, then McFarlane had complained previously that this team does not react well to setbacks. They did here, conceding weakly after six minutes but responding by getting back into the game with Enzo Fernandez’s free-kick.
We actually saw players giving a damn – a side to them which had been lacking over their previous six defeats ever since they huddled around Paul Tierney before being beaten by Newcastle.
According to Opta’s current data, Chelsea outran their Premier League opponents for the first time this season, at the 36th time of asking. That will be confirmed when the statisticians receive their tracking report after this weekend’s action is completed.
In the end, Chelsea took only a point, but it is the first they have picked up in the Premier League since overcoming Aston Villa away on March 4, so beggars cannot be choosers.
Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane insists Chelsea are not a broken club despite their poor run of form
His comments in the week were reminiscent of the a famous internet meme that sees a dog insisting things are fine when they are not
Just as importantly, this stopped the rot before next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, giving them a confidence boost at exactly the right time.
That showdown may now represent their best avenue into the Europa League for next term, which would be better than nothing.
Reds want more Rio
Liverpool fans booed the substitution of Rio Ngumoha after 67 minutes. Clearly, the home supporters love the former Chelsea academy attacker, and you have to wonder whether the visitors’ line-up told the 17-year-old that he made the right call in moving to Merseyside.
Chelsea used Marc Cucurella out of position on the left wing and, while the Spaniard performed well, there were other options in Cobham prospects Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, 17, and Mathis Eboue, 17, who McFarlane could have used. They were both on the bench, and never came on.
With Alejandro Garnacho, Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian and others sidelined, Cucurella was arguably Chelsea’s biggest threat throughout this trip to Anfield.
Over and over, we saw Moises Caicedo trying to play passes over the top and into Cucurella, whose movement was key to that. He created chances, and nearly nabbed an assist for Cole Palmer before VAR decided the left back turned left winger was offside by a shoulder.
‘Cucurella is not a winger,’ McFarlane said. ‘He has played there before, he told me, but even when he plays left back or when he rolls into midfield, his movement off the ball is of real high quality, the timing, the understanding of when to do it.
‘So, it’s something that we knew with him in that position we could maybe expose. I thought he’s unlucky not to get an assist and create a lot of problems for them.’
Chelsea fans booed Rio Ngumoha’s withdrawal, and the two line-ups suggest he made the right call in moving to Liverpool
Xabi Alonso could be the next person to choose between Liverpool and Chelsea in terms of management
Next up: Xabi Alonso
Chelsea and Liverpool have a recent history of one beating the other to targets.
Happened as recently as January with Jeremy Jacquet. He chose Liverpool.
Happened a few summers back with Moises Caicedo. He chose Chelsea.
Ngumoha? He chose Liverpool. Romeo Lavia? He chose Chelsea.
Now for the manager’s edition. Xabi Alonso is among Chelsea’s candidates to succeed the sacked Liam Rosenior, alongside Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva.
According to some sources, Alonso is an early preferred choice. Whether they can convince the former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen head coach to come to Stamford Bridge is another matter, given his greater allegiances to Liverpool, and the fact they may well move on from Arne Slot this summer.
