{"id":7432,"date":"2026-05-12T05:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=7432"},"modified":"2026-05-12T05:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:08:15","slug":"chelsea-hold-liverpool-to-1-1-draw-at-anfield-epl-25-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=7432","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea Hold Liverpool to 1-1 Draw at Anfield &#8211; EPL 25\/26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main \">\n                <\/aside>\n<p>            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">Liverpool\u2019s wait for Champions League clarity goes on after a 1-1 draw with out-of-form Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday. Ryan Gravenberch gave Arne Slot\u2019s men an early lead, but they failed to build on it, with Enzo Fernandez levelling before the break to draw the Blues out of their losing run of form.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">The Dutchman opened the scoring in the sixth minute, curling a delightful effort home after Rio Ngumoha worked the ball in from the touchline. This was then followed by a lacklustre display, allowing the Blues to grow into the contest. Fernandez\u2019s low 35-yard free-kick then beat everyone in the box and snuck inside the far post for the 18th set-piece goal Liverpool have conceded this term.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">The second half was filled with drama, but never really ignited. Cole Palmer thought he had put Chelsea ahead in the 49th minute, but VAR ruled the rebound out for offside. Less than 10 minutes later, Curtis Jones nodded home from a fine Milos Kerkez cross, only for the flag to deny him too. Szoboszlai crashed a shot off the left post, and Virgil van Dijk powered a header against the bar.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">Six bookings in a feisty second period, and both sides wasted opportunities to grab all three points. Jo\u00e3o Pedro shot wide for the Blues, and Chelsea\u2019s penalty claim for a Jeremie Frimpong challenge was dismissed by VAR. Liverpool\u2019s xG of 0.51 was their lowest at home since March, with McFarlane\u2019s visitors close behind on 0.47.<\/p>\n<hr data-path-to-node=\"6\"\/>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"7\">Ngumoha Substitution Sparks Anfield Backlash<\/h2>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">There were missed chances and disallowed goals, but one of the biggest talking point after the match was Arne Slot\u2019s decision to replace Rio Ngumoha with \u00a3130 million summer signing Alexander Isak in the 67th minute. The 17-year-old, who was behind Gravenberch\u2019s opener, had been Liverpool\u2019s brightest spark, winning more duels and ball recoveries than any other teammate.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">The substitution flashed up on the board, and jeers swept around Anfield before quickly turning to \u201cRio\u201d chants in appreciation of the academy graduate. Ngumoha had a muscle injury a few moments earlier, leaving Slot with no good options, he later explained. The Liverpool boss accepted the supporters\u2019 frustration but insisted the teenager just couldn\u2019t keep going at sprint capacity.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10\">The episode highlights a broader disquiet at Anfield, with Slot conceding he is unlikely to regain the trust of fans this season. Liverpool can still qualify for the Champions League with favourable results elsewhere, while Chelsea turn their attention to next Saturday\u2019s FA Cup final showdown with Manchester City.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main \">\n                <\/aside>\n<p>            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n\t<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Liverpool\u2019s wait for Champions League clarity goes on after a 1-1 draw with out-of-form Chelsea&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}