Despite taking the lead through John Terry, Chelsea couldn’t hold on to claim victory against Liverpool on Saturday as the two Premier League giants drew 1-1.
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(Video) Gerrard goal vs Chelsea: Skipper rises to the occasion for Liverpool
Steven Gerrard levelled the contest with a first-half header, and despite chances for both sides, the second period was goalless.
While Jose Mourinho may be frustrated at having failed to win in front of the home supporters, there may well be some modicum of joy at having guaranteed that old foe Liverpool cannot return to the Champions League next season.
Here are the player ratings for the Pensioners:
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 7
Demonstrated his class both aerially and with excellent command of his area. Shot-stopping was impressive as ever and he largely silenced Liverpool’s (admittedly) wayward attacking threat.
DR: Branislav Ivanovic – 6
He might have hit the rakia a little too hard following Chelsea’s title celebrations and didn’t assert himself as he so often does. Enjoyed a nice duel with Adam Lallana but conceded a free kick that led to Liverpool’s equaliser.
CB: Kurt Zouma – 6
Looked comfortable for half an hour—if a little keen to impress—before being replaced with an apparent knee injury. A frustrating conclusion to the evening and Mourinho will hope that the young former Saint-Etienne can enjoy more playing time alongside John Terry before the season is out.
CB: John Terry – 8
Opened the scoring for Chelsea after only five minutes and wasn’t unduly troubled by Liverpool’s forwards for the duration of the match; Rickie Lambert was particularly anonymous.
DL: Filipe Luis – 6
Given a rare start and an opportunity to impress, but struggled to take it, looking ill at ease with Raheem Sterling, admittedly one of the tougher opponents he could face in a league campaign.
MC: John Obi Mikel – 6
His first Premier League start for Chelsea since the end of December, and he was unfortunate to come up against a supremely motivated Gerrard. Quietly effective.
MC: Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
An impressive debut considering the quality of the opposition, industrious, but will surely have learned a lot from playing against the likes of Gerrard, Lucas and Coutinho.
RAM: Willian – 6
An energetic performance, where he demonstrated his aptitude for some hard work with some excellent tormenting of Glen Johnson, playing out of position at left-back.
CAM – Cesc Fabregas – 8
One of Fabregas’s best performances in a long time. The Spaniard was at the centre of almost all that was good about Chelsea’s play and looked comfortable demonstrating his wide range of passing.
However, he could have been dismissed for a foul on Raheem Sterling before the break.
LAM – Eden Hazard – 6
Not as effective as he can be, and not, perhaps, at his glittering best, but Hazard at least wowed the home fans with a few moments of dazzling footwork.
ST – Loic Remy – 5
A muted performance. He at least demonstrated that Chelsea did better signing him than Liverpool did with Lambert, but few at Stamford Bridge would be too disappointed were he to depart this summer.
Sub: Gary Cahill – 6
Sub: Nemanja Matic – 6
Sub: Juan Cuadrado – 5