Liverpool's 1-1 draw versus Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is a positive after last season's awful campaign away from Anfield

Liverpool had an away record of 6W-5D-8L away from home last campaign. A draw at Chelsea was a positive start.

History told us before Chelsea and Liverpool kicked off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday that the two Premier League teams would likely finish in a draw. The previous six encounters in all competitions had finished as stalemates at the end of regulation.   

A 1-1 draw against Chelsea isn’t a bad result at all to start the season. Plenty of Liverpool supporters would have hoped for a point before kickoff, playing away on opening day against one of their biggest rivals over the last 23 years.  

Liverpool were given the most challenging match to kick off the new campaign. A point is better than no points on opening day. The 1-1 draw with Chelsea should be seen as a far better result than the 2-2 come-from-behind draw at Fulham to start last term.  

Last season Liverpool struggled to obtain points on the road. How easy it is for some football fans to forget just how bad Liverpool were away from Anfield in 2022-23.   

The Reds had a 6W-5D-8L record and a -1-goal difference on the road last campaign. Liverpool’s away record only improved in the final five road games of the season. Jurgen Klopp’s team went unbeaten during that time.   

Before the final five away games, Liverpool were abysmal, with losses at Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bournemouth, Brentford, and Brighton. A draw away to Chelsea on opening day should be seen as a major positive. So, let us have some perspective. Since 1993, Liverpool have a record of 30W-24D-31L to the Blues. Let that sink in. 

There were some positives from Sunday’s match. The attack looked fantastic in the first half. Mohamed Salah was electric and got the best of Levi Colwill early on. Unfortunately, Salah wasn’t a factor in the second half, which partly led to his substitution.   

Luis Diaz was also excellent, but like Salah, didn’t see much of the ball in the second period. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister both played well. It may be easy to forget that Liverpool were nearly 2-0 up by the half-hour mark thanks to a Mohamed Salah goal from an exquisite Trent Alexander-Arnold through ball from midfield.   

The goal was chalked off due to Salah being slightly offside. Up to that point, Liverpool were the better team. The team let off after that. Had the second goal been allowed to stand, there would have possibly been no way back for Chelsea.   

In the wake of the 1-1 draw, everyone continues to call for Liverpool to sign a No 6. Yes, the Reds need a defensive midfielder, but the problems the Reds experienced on Sunday in defence were not the result of a lack of a No 6. The defensive problems Liverpool showed against at Stamford Bridge were the same issues that plagued them last term with Fabinho filling the No 6 role.   

If you go back to the 2021-22 season, in which Liverpool won the FA Cup and EFL Cup and nearly won the Premier League and Champions League, the team exhibited those same defensive flaws. Those problems weren’t as apparent as they are now. Moreover, during the season Liverpool fought for four trophies, the attack was so strong that the team was able to overcome any defensive vulnerabilities. But the defensive vulnerabilities have only got worse.   

The left side of Liverpool’s defence has been a problem for some time. While a lot of blame is thrown towards Alexander-Arnold and a lack of a specialist No 6, Chelsea’s best attacks came from the right side.

Time and again, Chelsea were getting in on goal between Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson – something that happened throughout last season. Robertson had a difficult time against Raheem Sterling, who had one of his best performances in a Chelsea shirt.   

Chelsea captain Reece James was able to exploit Liverpool’s left-hand side as well. It didn’t help that Cody Gakpo is a forward and was shoehorned into playing as a left-sided No 10. He isn’t a natural midfielder and struggled to defend against Chelsea’s runs into the final third.   

Robertson has been a brilliant player for Liverpool since arriving in 2017 for £8 million from Hull City. The left-back is 29 and has played a lot of football in the last six seasons for club and country. There have also been plenty of lower leg injuries.   

His impact in defence, especially against elite attackers, is waning. According to Fbref, in the last 365 days, Robertson ranked in the eighth percentile in tackles for all full-backs with just 1.22 per game. His interceptions are only good for the 16th percentile at 0.67 interceptions per match. The left-back only averages 0.61 take-ons per game and has a 79.3% pass success rate.   

Of course, Robertson’s attacking figures are brilliant. He averages 0.3 assists, 3.34 shot creations, 5.59 progressive passes, 2.71 progressive carries, and 77.05 passes attempted per 90 minutes for all full-backs. It is the defensive side of the ball that is currently the issue. But this is the problem with using two attacking full-backs.   

Klopp changed the team in the second half, bringing on the pair of Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones. Although Jones struggled to get into the game, Elliott was a house on fire. He cleaned up multiple loose balls and had Liverpool on the front foot. The Reds finished the match as the stronger team, just as they had started it. Darwin Nunez nearly scored and may have got the winner had his shot not taken a slight deflection.   

Do Liverpool still need a No 6? Absolutely. The return of Stefan Bajcetic cannot come soon enough. But Liverpool are likely to go back for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia after the shit show that was the pursuit of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo. Having had the deal agreed on Friday morning, Caicdeo refused to join Liverpool, saying he would rather go to Chelsea. The Blues agreed to a £115m transfer for the midfielder after the 1-1 draw with Liverpool.  

Liverpool will face Bournemouth on matchday No 2 at Anfield. Last season’s game at Anfield between the clubs saw Liverpool win 9-0. The Reds were the Premier League’s fourth-best team at home last season, with a record of 13W-5D-1L and a goal difference of +29. Leeds United were the only team to defeat Liverpool at Anfield.   

Forty-four of Liverpool’s 67 points were taken at Anfield in 2022-23. If Liverpool pick up all three points, the negativity after a good point at Stamford Bridge should turn into positivity.