Chelsea v Liverpool ratings: Chalobah 4, Kante 8; Van Dijk 4, Salah 7

Blues fight back to retain second place in Premier League

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 7 The Senegalese should have done better at the near post for Salah’s goal. He redeemed himself with a brilliant second-half save from the Egyptian. Getty

Trevoh Chalobah - 4 The 22-year-old made an awful mistake and presented Mane with the first goal when he elected to head the ball rather than use his left foot. He made a good challenge to deny Salah and was replaced by Jorginho with 20 minutes to go. Reuters

Thiago Silva - 7 The 37-year-old does not have a lot of pace but he used space effectively to cut out the danger. He was untroubled by Jota. EPA

Antonio Rudiger - 5 The German went missing for Salah’s goal but won a robust challenge that led to Pulisic’s equaliser. There were spells when the game passed him by. AFP

Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 The Spaniard was smashed in the face by Mane’s elbow immediately after kickoff and given a tough time by the striker afterwards. He stuck at the job. Reuters

N’Golo Kante - 8 The Frenchman took charge of the midfield. He pressed hard, distributed the ball nicely and provided a great pass for the equaliser. Getty

Mateo Kovacic - 8 The Croat took a while to get a foothold in the match but grew in stature throughout the first half. His splendid goal sparked Chelsea’s revival and he was excellent in the second period. AP

Marcos Alonso - 6 The Spaniard was made to look daft by Salah for the second goal and had his defensive frailties exposed. He was better going forward and his fee kick led to his team’s first goal. Getty

Mason Mount - 5 The 22-year-old was frustrated by his inability to find space. He was not as influential as normal and flirted with disaster with a silly flick of the foot at the prone Tsimikas. EPA

Kai Havertz - 6 The German’s touch was poor but his pressing was effective and created an early chance for Pulisic. He never looked like scoring and was taken off for Hudson-Odoi with 11 minutes to go. Getty

Christian Pulisic - 7 The American should have scored when presented with an early chance but took his goal beautifully. He was moved to wing-back as Chelsea changed their tactics. EPA

SUBS: Jorginho - 6 The 30-year-old joined the action with 20 minutes to go for Chalobah. He gave the midfield a more secure look. Reuters

Callum Hudson-Odoi - 6 The 21-year-old was brought on for Havertz in the 79th minute. He did not get enough time to use his pace against a tiring defence. Getty

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Caoimhin Kelleher - 7 The Irishman made two good saves to deny Pulisic. He was assured with the ball at his feet and had no chance with either goal. Getty

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5 The 23-year-old was fortunate to get away with a huge early mistake but his distribution was mainly good in the first half. A poor pass contributed to Chelsea’s equaliser. EPA

Ibrahima Konate - 6 The Frenchman’s positioning was sometimes questionable but he was strong in the tackle and in the air. He battled on even after a knock on the head. EPA

Virgil Van Dijk - 4 The Dutchman seemed disconnected from Konate. He was troubled by Havertz and jogged back for Pulisic’s goal. A poor performance. EPA

Kostas Tsimikas - 7 The Greek gave Mount little latitude and was effective in defence. His attacking production was less impressive but he kept attempting to get forward. Getty

Fabinho - 4 The Brazilian had a difficult afternoon. He was off the pace and too many of his passes went backwards. Getty

James Milner - 4 The 35-year-old made a great challenge in the area to stop Mount but gave away a poor free kick that led to Chelsea’s first goal. He became more ineffective as the game went on and was replaced by Keita in the 69th minute. AFP

Jordan Henderson - 4 The captain toiled away but to little effect. His passing was slipshod and he was left flatfooted by the Chelsea midfield. Reuters

Mohamed Salah - 7 The Egyptian scored a sublime goal against his former club and was denied another by Mendy’s fine save. He did not allow the defenders to settle. Getty

Diogo Jota - 4 A lacklustre outing for the Portuguese. He was involved in the opening goal but it was one of the few occasions he made an impact. Taken off for Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 69th minute. Getty

Sadio Mane - 7 The Senegalese got away with a yellow card for an ugly elbow on Azpilicueta after six seconds. To add to Chelsea’s chagrin, he capitalised on Chalobah’s error to score the opener. A sparky, aggressive display from the striker, who was replaced by Jones in the final minute AP

SUBS: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6 The 28-year-old replaced Jota with 21 minutes to go and brought an injection of energy to the team but produced little threat. PA

Naby Keita - 6 The Guinean joined the fray for Milner in the 69th minute. He was busy and matched up well with the Chelsea midfield. AP

Curtis Jones - 6 The 20-year-old came on in the 90th minute for Mane for his first appearance in two months. It was a welcome return to action. Reuters

Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic eased the loss of Romelu Lukaku’s omission as Chelsea battled to a pulsating 2-2 Premier League draw with Covid-hit Liverpool.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah catapulted Liverpool into a commanding 2-0 lead inside half an hour, only for Kovacic and Pulisic to fire a four-minute response before half-time.

Thomas Tuchel dropped club-record signing Lukaku, with the fallout from the Belgian’s recent interview claiming unhappiness in London deemed “too noisy” in the build-up to facing title rivals Liverpool.

And the Chelsea boss will take partial vindication as the Blues clawed their way back from the brink to earn a point and hold on to second place in the table.

The Reds pitched up at Stamford Bridge with their own problems too, with manager Jurgen Klopp, goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defender Joel Matip and forward Roberto Firmino absent due to suspected positive Covid-19 tests.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.