Anfield might have witnessed a first in football. A £125million striker coming onto the field of play with the booming sound of jeers ringing in his ears. But they were not for Alexander Isak, they were for Arne Slot. The Liverpool manager - in his dark t-shirt and white-soled sneakers - looked like he was ready for Ibiza. He surely cannot wait to get there.
And clearly, a good number of Liverpool supporters would rather he had an extended holiday. In view of what he did for the club last season, that is spectacularly harsh. But what is indisputable is that Slot did not help himself against the most out-of-form team in the Premier League.
Perhaps he was guided by the medical staff, perhaps it was always the plan, but there was no reading of the room when Slot decided the player to make way for Isak midway through the second half would be Rio Ngumoha. It was a substitution that prompted boos as loud as Anfield has heard this season. They were not quite as voluble when Craig Pawson called time but they were considerable all the same.
Liverpool will play Champions League next season but this one cannot end quickly enough for Slot. The Dutchman’s fundamental problem is that there is - at best - a growing sense of apathy towards his tenure. The general feeling among the fanbase seems to be resignation to him getting another season.
When things were going awry for the home side in this low-quality contest, there was no sense of mutiny or even anger. Just resignation, a familiarity with the shortcomings of this Liverpool side. The anger only bubbled up when 17-year-old Ngumoha, who had probably been Liverpool’s brightest spark, was taken off. Before that, there was indifference. And there is a collective shrug when talk of mitigating circumstances arises.
Here, Liverpool were without a poorly Florian Wirtz but, let’s face it, the German midfielder’s first season as a £116million footballer has hardly been a runaway success. A lot of the reasons have been out of their control but Liverpool’s expensive collection of signings last summer has pretty much had a first campaign to forget. Mind you, the same can be said of Chelsea’s recruitment, but their recent issues have looked more connected to attitude than to quality.
And for a while at Anfield, that lackadaisical approach was painfully to the fore. Liverpool’s opener was a decent effort, Ryan Gravenberch producing a strike that deviated at pace, even though keeper Filip Jorgensen might have done a little better. But the reluctance to engage with the assist-provider, Ngumoha, or the scorer was startling. Malo Gusto’s surname can rarely have seemed so inappropriate.
Considering the quality they have in their squad, it is almost inexplicable for Chelsea to be on such a terrible run of Premier League form. And it has to come down to application. When they apply themselves properly, they are a match for most. In the second quarter of this match, they dominated Liverpool, with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer exerting authority.
And a trio as talented as that should be exerting authority. The equaliser came from an Enzo Fernandez free-kick that Wesley Fofana seemed to claim he had touched, and Chelsea should have capitalised on their dominance but had a Palmer effort ruled out for a VAR offside decision. As flaky as Chelsea are, that setback appeared to deflate them and they allowed Liverpool to become competitive again.
As quickly as it had appeared, their zest for the contest diminished. Only the frame of the goal prevented Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk restoring Liverpool’s lead. Liverpool were still fortunate that the VAR could find nothing wrong with Jeremie Frimpong’s late, clumsy, penalty-area challenge on Joao Pedro. But that did not stop the jeers. For Slot, Ibiza cannot come a day too soon.
