The shrill sound of referee Anthony Taylor’s final whistle reverberated around the rapidly emptying Stamford Bridge, the perfect soundtrack to this uneventful match. In the past two decades, Chelsea and Liverpool have fought each other for the highest honours in domestic and European fixtures, but this was not one of them. Where once these two teams were at the top of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup, they now stand at eighth and eleventh in the table respectively. It has been seven hours and forty-five minutes since either team scored against each other, including last season’s League Cup and FA Cup finals which were both won by Liverpool on penalties. As the game descended into mediocrity after an entertaining opening phase, their current standings seemed almost generous.
Chelsea are in a period of instability following the sacking of manager Graham Potter, with coach Bruno Saltor in charge while owner Todd Boehly and his Clearlake group search for their third manager of the season. This has created an odd atmosphere around Stamford Bridge, a combination of enthusiasm for the dismissal of an unpopular manager and the feeling that Chelsea’s season is on hold until a new manager is appointed and their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid arrives. The Blues’ immediate need is goals, something which has been hard to come by despite the £600m spent by Boehly and co. since they took over from Roman Abramovich. This was evident against Liverpool as Joao Felix showed great skill but a tendency to hold onto the ball too long, Kai Havertz could not find the finishing touch, and Mateo Kovacic sent a second-half chance way over the top with just Alisson to beat.
For Liverpool, the top four is their only target after last season’s relentless pursuit of a historic quadruple which saw them win the FA Cup and League Cup but fail to make an impression in the Premier League and Champions League. Jurgen Klopp made six changes to his side after the heavy beating at Manchester City, with Virgil van Dijk ill and Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson on the bench. The result was an improvement but the overall performance was lacklustre, lacking intensity and threat apart from five minutes at the end of the first half. The team that has scored so prolifically at home and abroad has now scored just one goal in four games since their 7-0 demolition of Manchester United at Anfield – and that was in a 4-1 defeat at Etihad Stadium.
It will be a tough task for Saltor to outwit Carlo Ancelotti in the upcoming Champions League quarter-final, but Chelsea are determined to find a manager of proven pedigree. As for Liverpool, they are seven points off the top four and in poor form. They will need to step up their game if they are to make it into that group – starting with Sunday’s game against league leaders Arsenal at Anfield. Klopp’s verdict? “I saw a couple of 0-0s against Chelsea over the last few years. The cup finals last season are two of the best games I’ve seen. Tonight was different.” Indeed it was, Jurgen. Indeed it was.