Calum McFarlane hailed returning defender Levi Colwill because the ‘best player on the pitch’ after Chelsea’s draw with Liverpool.
Chelsea’s run of six straight Premier League defeats got here to an end on Saturday because the Blues clinched a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
McFarlane would have been fearing the more severe when Ryan Gravenberch curled home an outstanding opener for Liverpool inside after just six minutes.
But Enzo Fernandez’s cross-come-shot brought Chelsea level before half-time and each teams wasted possibilities to secure the win within the second half.
Chelsea interim boss McFarlane was pleased together with his team’s response to a deflating 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest last day trip and felt the visitors were unlucky to not win the sport.
McFarlane, who took charge following Liam Rosenior’s sacking last month, singled out Colwill for praise after he impressed on his first Premier League start of the season.
‘I thought Levi was probably the best player on the pitch,’ McFarlane told TNT Sports. ‘He allows us to defend man for man on the last line so we may be really aggressive.
‘He also gives us quite a lot of balance, he did all the pieces at a very high level today. To play like that after being out for nearly a yr speaks to his character and who he’s.’
Discussing Chelsea’s performance as an entire, McFarlane added: ‘It’s good to get some momentum back.
‘I thought we could’ve won the sport because there were moments that didn’t quite go our way, nevertheless it’s good to get well after the Forest game and we’d like to construct on that in the ultimate [next weekend’s FA Cup final against Manchester City] which will likely be an enormous challenge.
‘We didn’t reach the usual we all know we’re able to against Nottingham Forest, it was really disappointing.
‘But there have been some good signs from the team today so I’m really blissful with the performance.’
Despite stopping the rot at Anfield, Chelsea could possibly be within the bottom-half of the Premier League at the tip of the weekend.
Liverpool, meanwhile, stay fourth and on track for Champions League qualification despite one other underwhelming performance from Arne Slot’s reigning champions.
Speaking after the draw, Slot said: ‘We began off very well and got a giant probability from a set-piece which was close to creating it 2-0.
‘Unfortunately, like last week, we conceded a set piece. It was such a sloppy goal.
‘The second half I saw a totally different intensity. We went close just a few times. Like so again and again this season, we hit the post and bar.
‘We weren’t capable of control their players. They played with quite a lot of midfielders today.’
Reacting to the boos from the Liverpool fans that rang out on the full-time whistle, Slot added: ‘That’s probably got something to do with us not winning.
‘It completely is smart individuals are dissatisfied if Liverpool don’t win.’
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