\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the f***?\u201d<\/p>\n
One voice picked up on the TNT Sports<\/em> mic early in the second half spoke for nigh-on 60,000 Liverpool<\/strong> fans inside Anfield, which for much of this sunny Saturday became Marc Cucurella\u2019s personal playground.<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the outcome anyone expected ahead of this meeting between two sides both gasping for the end of sorry seasons.<\/p>\n Nor did Chelsea look like taking anything but another hiding when they went behind yet again as their wretched six-game losing run looked set to become the joint-worst in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n But Liverpool\u2019s seemingly conscious refusal to seize the initiative<\/strong> against a beleaguered bunch lacking confidence and cohesion was damning.<\/p>\n That is on Arne Slot<\/strong>. It has to be.<\/p>\n The manner in which Liverpool sat off after Ryan Gravenberch\u2019s fine opener, rather than double down on their visitors\u2019 unease while they sussed out their shape, was so pronounced, it must have been part of a collective plan instead of the sum of 11 sloppy parts.<\/p>\n Slot\u2019s scheme, yet again, did not work. Actually, it had the opposite of what we assume was the desired effect.<\/p>\n Liverpool not only sat back, they shrank. And Chelsea, even this Chelsea<\/strong>were not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.<\/p>\n The Reds ceded possession to the Blues, preferring to sit back deep in their own half, at times in danger of retreating onto the Kop. When they should have been kicking Chelsea while they were down, Liverpool gave them a hand back up and a warm cuddle.<\/p>\n What was the objective? To hit Chelsea on the break? If so, trying to draw out the Blues only served to give the visitors enough time and touches on the ball to shake off whatever funk they have been in.<\/p>\n Once they had sensed Liverpool\u2019s reluctance to press, harass or harry \u2013 the qualities which for a decade were the bare minimum at Anfield \u2013 Chelsea recognised their opportunity. They built from deep and though they weren\u2019t often finding a frontman, they ratted around the second ball to gain more territory that way.<\/p>\n Actually, Chelsea didn\u2019t need to find a forward player. Liverpool\u2019s attempts to shackle Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer made their backline so lopsided, Cucurella had the freedom of Merseyside to get in behind time and again.<\/p>\n Callum McFarlane deserves credit for spotting a Liverpool weakness to be exploited. Cucurella was played in a more advanced role ahead of Jorell Hato, and the Spaniard was repeatedly found from deep the wrong side of Curtis Jones, the Liverpool right-back the only non-full-back of the four players down that flank.<\/p>\n There was little sophisticated about the way Chelsea got their success that way. There did not have to be. Liverpool stood off and allowed Blues defenders and midfielders to play over or through to Cucurella, while Jones and Ibrahima Konate refused to be seen in the same frame as one another.<\/p>\n It was a problem for Liverpool for the whole of the first half and, damningly, they didn\u2019t address it at half-time. By which point Chelsea had drawn themselves level, either from Enzo Fernandez\u2019s free-kick or Wesley Fofana\u2019s touch on the way through. Forensic tests are yet to provide conclusive proof which.<\/p>\n Regardless, it was Liverpool\u2019s 18th goal of the season conceded from a set-piece \u2013 an unwanted record which hints at both the absence of defensive structure and an weakness in duels.<\/p>\n That\u2019s damning on Slot, who was given an easier ride than many inside Anfield felt he deserved at half-time.<\/p>\n But the home crowd let the manager have it when he made his first change midway through the second half. Up went Rio Ngumoha\u2019s number, prompting loud dissent from all four sides of Anfield.<\/p>\n You could see their point. Ngumoha was perhaps the only attacking spark on parade for Liverpool, even if his dribbles increasingly took him down dead ends. Which said more about Chelsea\u2019s eagerness to surround him and Liverpool\u2019s refusal to get up in support of a teenager who looked too quick for his team-mates.<\/p>\n Ngumoha has been one of the few good things about Liverpool since Christmas, but the Kop has had to savour what few glimpses they have been allowed by Slot.<\/p>\n MORE: Slot \u2018inquest\u2019 coming at Liverpool as FSG know \u2018Alonso is there\u2019 and would \u2018light up\u2019 Anfield<\/strong><\/p>\n At least by the time he received an immediate explanation from Slot for his withdrawal, Liverpool had at last managed to stop Cucurella taking the p*ss. And the final quarter of the game played out with both sides looking for a winner though neither appeared likely to get it.<\/p>\n The final whistle prompted more boos from the home fans as Liverpool passed up the chance to secure Champions League football next season, allowing Villa a sniff of a fourth-placed finish that would screw a few<\/strong> hoping to sneak a place at the top table.<\/p>\n Liverpool will be back in the Champions League \u2013 argue among yourselves over whether they deserve to be \u2013\u00a0 but anyone making the case for Slot to lead them there today lost what shreds of credibility they were clinging too.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n