Calum McFarlane, Interim Manager of Chelsea, gestures during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield on May 09, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
Calum McFarlane, Interim Manager of Chelsea, gestures during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield on May 09, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw as Chelsea arrested a six-match losing streak in the Premier League.
Chelsea interim boss Callum McFarlane revealed that his team felt they could exploit Liverpool’s right flank as the London side arrested their woeful form.
A 1-1 draw at Anfield meant that Chelsea brought an end to a six-match losing streak in the Premier League. Liverpool were out of the traps quickly and took the lead inside six minutes through Ibrahima Konate.
But the Reds were unable to tighten their grip and Chelsea got back into the encounter, with Enzo Fernandez scoring from a free-kick on 35 minutes. The visitors found particular joy through Marc Cucurella in the first half, with the left-back playing further forward against makeshift Liverpool right-back Curtis Jones.
Asked about Cucurella’s role, McFarlane said: “I haven't seen the data. I think we were effective down both sides, in my honest opinion. I thought Cole [Palmer] and Malo [Gusto] caused them real problems with their rotation on the right, and I thought, yeah, you're right in terms of Cucurella running off the ball and finding space with great movement. So, it was definitely something that we knew. Cucurella is not a winger.
“He has played there before, he told me, but even when he plays left-back or when he rolls into midfield, his movement off the ball is of a real high quality, the timing, the understanding of when to do it. So, it's something that new with him in that position we could maybe expose. I thought he's unlucky not to get an assist and create a lot of problems for them.”
McFarlane also felt that Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty for a challenge from Liverpool’s Jeremie Frimpong on Joao Pedro. VAR checked the incident but agreed with the on-field referee Craig Pawson.
“I thought the game could have went either way really at certain moments in that game,” McFarlane added. “I think, probably being a little bit biased, I think we could have won the game. We had some good moments. I remember Enzo's chance in the first half, Cucurella getting into some really good areas, crossing areas, another marginal offside, another penalty shout that I thought, personally, I know it's a tough job for officials, but I think that's a clear penalty. So, yeah, arguably we could have come away with three points.”
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