On your worst run in years and in desperate need of a point? Do you have a fanbase ready to revolt at the hierarchy after poor ownership and poor managerial appointments? Anxious about where your team might finish in the final league table?
Doctor Liverpool will see you now. A contest against Arne Slot’s side is the perfect remedy for you.
Previous patients include Tottenham, who had lost six games in a row before turning up at Anfield to win the first – and only – point of the Igor Tudor era.
See also teams like Wolves, who were fearing a record-low points tally before playing the Reds at Molineux and winning, and plenty other examples.
Coming to Merseyside on their worst run since 1993, when they lost six in a row under Glenn Hoddle, Chelsea – like Spurs a month or so ago – were an almighty mess and fans would have been fearing the worst as they boarded the rattler at London Euston on Saturday morning.
But rookie manager Calum McFarlane left with a much-needed point and, perhaps more importantly, a performance to be proud of and one to take confidence from ahead of next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Chelsea stopped the rot with a 1-1 draw at Liverpool after six successive defeats in the league
Ryan Gravenberch gave Liverpool lift-off with a stunning early effort from outside the area
Ryan Gravenberch scored an early goal with a rasping effort but Liverpool soon retreated and reverted back to their vulnerable type, as Chelsea smelt blood, equalised through Enzo Fernandez and had the better of the second-half play.
‘How bad must you be, we’ve scored a goal,’ sang the away end – or words to that effect. Oh, they are very bad. This Liverpool side, who still have not confirmed their Champions League place for next year, surprise one every week with just how weak they actually are.
Anfield has transformed from a fortress to a theatre of nerves and fans are growing tired of the slow playing style.
This was a chance for Liverpool fans to feel better about their own season. Like when one thinks they are having a mid-life crisis only to see an old school mate doing worse, the Reds were still in the top five despite their torrid year, while Chelsea were all the way down in ninth.
A loss here threatened to plunge Calum McFarlane’s team, who had lost their previous six, into the bottom half of the table as they arrived in the curious position of having an FA Cup final to look forward to while knowing their league season has been an utter embarrassment.
Given both teams’ incompetence, the atmosphere was rather flat and certainly nothing like the electric noise generated 21 years ago this week, when these sides played out a Champions League semi-final decided by a Luis Garcia ‘ghost goal’.
There was certainly no doubt whether the ball had crossed the line or not after six minutes here, though, as Ryan Gravenberch put Liverpool into an early lead with a thunderbolt effort from the edge of the penalty area, his first league goal of 2026.
Slot’s side have been accused of slow first halves in recent months but this was much better. Or at least it was for 15 minutes. After that, well, it was back to normal: passive, stodgy, vulnerable, naive, toothless.
Take your pick of adjectives but the Reds soon reverted to type and invited Chelsea, a team that came here on their worst run in a generation. Just like Tottenham, who rocked up at Anfield a month ago in dire condition only to draw, McFarlane’s men were allowed to grow into the game.
When all is said and done about Liverpool this term and wherever they end up, one of the most worrying things Slot must solve is how their home ground has lost its fear factor. The fans could sense a change in the tide after a positive start.
They were soon jeering, audibly grumbling when Ibrahima Konate played a backward pass, venting their fury when players checked back instead of charging forward. A place that once fed off Jurgen Klopp’s heavy-metal football now sounds bored and tired of Slot’s slow style.
Chelsea were level after 35 minutes through an Enzo Fernandez cross-cum-shot free-kick that evaded everyone including goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. It was an 18th set-piece goal conceded for Liverpool, making it their worst-ever season on record in that regard.
The goal had been coming, too. After the tidy start, Liverpool retreated and almost said to Chelsea: come on, lads, why don’t you have a go? Cody Gakpo, the No 9 today given injuries, did not touch the ball until the 40th minute.
Former Chelsea prospect Rio Ngumoha shone for Liverpool and assisted Gravenberch’s goal
Both Cole Palmer (above) and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones had goals disallowed in the second half
Minutes after half-time, the away team thought they had drawn level. Moises Caicedo played an inch-perfect pass to Marc Cucurella, who was marginally offside when he helped the ball to Cole Palmer to score.
At the other end, Curtis Jones also had a goal ruled out for offside, when Dominik Szoboszlai picked out Gakpo unmarked in the box – but just ahead of the play. Both teams could feel hard done by after tight, albeit correct, calls from the assistant referees.
Virgil van Dijk rattled the crossbar with a bullet header in Liverpool’s best chance of the second half, while the Kop were sure Reece James had handled the ball in the penalty area. Chelsea, at the other end, went close through a curled Joao Pedro effort that was just wide.
