Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea

A race to mediocrity.  A battle to decide the most disappointing team of the Premiership's season.  Although, Everton fans may have a gripe about that.  Somehow, both teams managed to equally disappoint.  If it was a 1-1 draw, fans would at least have a moment of exaltation.  However, yet again, Blues and Reds fans are left feeling empty.

Both clubs felt as though they had an opportunity for success leading up to this match.  Liverpool are coming off a 3-0 drubbing from Brighton.  And with Chelsea coming off a 1-0 nailbiter over Crystal Palace, are hoping to continue their success.  Especially with the addition of Mykhailo Mudryk.  The Ukrainian winger from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for a ~€70 million transfer fee.  Chelsea's reloaded attack have a great opportunity to build momentum against a shaky Liverpool backline.

Liverpool, meanwhile, see a Chelsea side with three losses in their last four games.  Being outscored by a margin of 7-2.  A squad unable to create or capitalize on opportunities.  Surely with Liverpool's addition of attacker Cody Gakpo from PSV for ~€45 million thrust into an attack with Darwin Núñez and Mo Salah, can put enough pressure on Chelsea to control the game.

However, Chelsea and Liverpool have the same attacking woes.  The marquee signings failing to deliver on their price tags.  Summed up in this game with the lone goal by Kai Havertz in the 3' being overturned by a correct VAR offside decision.  Personally, I thought this was going to be a goal fest.  I have no confidence in a central back pairing that includes Joe Gomez.  I think he has been the worst CB of the year in any competition.  Granted I haven't watched every Liverpool match, however his performances always seem to stand out.  Likewise, I thought Liverpool's midfield and attacking play was going to be enough to overwhelm this Chelsea side. Leading to possibly a 2-2 draw or 2-1 Liverpool win.

Instead, we got a match that summed up both club's seasons.  A 0-0 draw.  An advantage of 15-11 shots in favor of Liverpool.  A total of 26 shots with only 5 ending up on target.  3 for Liverpool and 2 for Chelsea.  

In Chelsea's defence, they seemed to be more threatening on the attack.  And if Thiago Silva scores his 3' chance, Chelsea are up 1-0.  A fair scoreline for what transpired. Mudryk's debut as a substitute in the 55' proved to be a success.  Immediately offering a pace and direct dribbling ability that Chelsea lacked, especially with the injuries to wingers Pulisic and Sterling.

The highlight of the match goes to Chelsea.  For a moment that transpired when the ball was not even in
play.  Mudryk plays a ball to Chukwuemeka in Liverpool's penalty area. Chukwuemeka proceeds to trip over the ball and kick it out for a goal kick.  An embarrassing moment for Chukwuemeka and frustrating waste of an opportunity for both Chelsea and Mudryk.  As the camera is cutting away from the play, Mudryk is seen sprinting to help Chukwuemeka off the pitch.  This moment stood out to me and I hope it stood out to the rest of the squad members and Potter.

Mudryk is a teammate first.  Showing heart and passion.  A record transfer for a Ukrainian player, and subject of a transfer battle between Chelsea and Arsenal.  The latter being the club he supposedly was yearning to play for.  And in his first game, shows that he's not just the latest transfer from Boehly war chest.  Mudryk proved that he is happy to be a Blue and cares about the team in an era of football where Mbappe constantly argues with Neymar about who gets to take a penalty.  

I don't know if this is a compliment or an insult for Chelsea if I am arguing that this moment was the highlight of the match.  Maybe it's both.   Highlighting the lackluster performance, but providing a source of hope for the future of the campaign.  Sitting at 10th place in the table, Chelsea are only 2 points behind 6th place Brighton.  

Champions League play is most likely out of reach being 10 points behind 4th place Manchester United, but European competition is still very much in play.  However, with 18 match days remaining, and an
attack infused with more purpose in recent matches, everything is still possible for the London Blues.  With Chelsea and Liverpool tied with 29 points, both teams will hope to continue to battle each other for the last of the European spots.  However, it is looking more likely that they will continue to battle over most disappointing club of the 2022-2023 season.