Chelsea’s players were praised for their resilience after emerging from a turbulent week with an unexpected draw at Manchester City, as temporary head coach Calum McFarlane lauded the character shown following Enzo Maresca’s sudden departure.
Enzo Fernandez struck a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium, denting City’s Premier League title challenge and offering Chelsea a measure of stability amid uncertainty off the pitch.
Tijjani Reijnders had earlier put the hosts ahead, seemingly setting City on course for a hard-fought victory as they looked to close the gap on leaders Arsenal.
Instead, Chelsea left Manchester with a point few had predicted after a chaotic few days that began with Maresca’s exit on New Year’s Day. McFarlane, the club’s under-21 coach, was thrust into the role of interim manager and is expected to stand aside for Liam Rosenior ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Fulham.
Rosenior, currently in charge of Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg, is reported to have travelled to London on Sunday to hold talks with the club’s hierarchy. Chelsea declined to comment on the reports, but McFarlane acknowledged that change is imminent.
Despite the uncertainty, the interim coach oversaw an assured display against Pep Guardiola’s side and was quick to shift the focus onto his players.
“There’s a lot of change that’s gone on,” McFarlane said. “Enzo was incredibly successful with this group and some of them were shocked by the decision. So the character they’ve shown in the last two days, and the character they’ve shown today, has been outstanding.
“Everyone thought we were coming here to lose. No one thought we stood a chance. But we knew the character and the talent in this group.”
McFarlane highlighted the leadership of several senior figures, including Reece James, Tosin Adarabioyo and Fernandez, who scored the equaliser deep into added time. “They’ve really dragged the group together,” he said. “I can’t speak highly enough about the characters in the group.”
Asked about reports suggesting he could move to Strasbourg should Rosenior take charge at Stamford Bridge, McFarlane played down the speculation. “That’s the first I’ve heard of that,” he said. “When I first took this job I was told I would take the Manchester City game. There’s a chance the new manager will be in on Monday.”
For City, the draw was another setback following a goalless stalemate at Sunderland in midweek and leaves Guardiola’s side six points behind Arsenal. The afternoon was further complicated by injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, adding to an already lengthy list that includes John Stones.
“We have a lot of injuries,” Guardiola said. “It’s the situation but we stay strong and we will find a solution.”
Guardiola felt his side were ultimately punished for their lack of ruthlessness. “We were extraordinary in all departments except scoring,” he said. “In the second half they had nothing to lose and at the end they found their reward.”
Liverpool injury crisis continues
Arne Slot said he felt unable to risk Hugo Ekitike in Liverpool’s dramatic 2-2 draw at Fulham with his attacking options stretched thin.
The striker had an MRI scan before travelling to London which revealed a minor issue and left Slot feeling he had no choice but to leave out the 23-year-old and start instead with Cody Gakpo up front.
Deprived of his three main goalscoring threats, his team looked limp in attack and a pale impression of their best.
It was Gakpo’s goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time that looked to have earned Liverpool a valuable if unearned comeback victory at Craven Cottage and put them in a strong position in the race for the Premier League’s top four, until Fulham’s Harrison Reed struck one of the goals of the season seconds later to deny the champions.
Slot was already without Mohamed Salah, who is at the Africa Cup of Nations, and the injured Alexander Isak.
“He felt something during the training session so he went for an MRI scan,” said Slot. “We got the result when we were flying so we were hoping it was just DOMS [delayed-onset muscle soreness]."
Florian Wirtz was passed fit and scored Liverpool’s equaliser to make it 1-1 in the second half, finishing well after Conor Bradley’s mazy run. Harry Wilson had earlier given Fulham the lead.
There would be late drama as though as first Gakpo turned the ball in via his thigh from a couple of yards out to seemingly win it, before substitute Reed unleashed an outrageous 30-yard drive into the top corner in seventh minute of added time.
Fulham boss Marco Silva reflected on a match he felt his team ought to have won.
“It feels strange to be honest,” he said. “I think we could win the game. We were better in the first half, we controlled Liverpool.”
'Outstanding' Thiago nets hat-trick
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews believes Igor Thiago’s form means he deserves to be mentioned alongside some of Europe’s top strikers.
The 24-year-old’s first Premier League hat-trick in the 4-2 win at Everton means only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich’s England captain Harry Kane have scored more in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
After ending a six-match drought in style, he needs just two more goals to become the highest-scoring Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.
“Not bad, is it? I thought the finishes today were outstanding, really clinical, outstanding, calm, confident,” said Andrews, whose side are now within four points of fourth place.
A mistake by James Tarkowski led to Thiago’s opener, a lovely cushioned volley, and Nathan Collins then got in front of the centre-back to nod home Brentford’s first goal from a corner in 96 attempts this season.
Thiago scored his second in a two-on-one and although Beto pulled one back, the Brentford striker completed his hat-trick to ensure Thierno Barry’s added-time goal had no significance.
