Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane felt his side were denied a “clear penalty” as they ended their losing streak with a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
The Blues had lost six successive Premier League games, and that run appeared set to stretch to seven after Ryan Gravenberch gave Liverpool a sixth-minute lead.
But Enzo Fernandez restored parity in the 35th minute as his in-swinging free-kick that evaded everyone and nestled in the bottom-left corner, before Cole Palmer had a goal disallowed for offside as Chelsea aimed to turn the game on its head.
Liverpool were also denied by the offside flag and hit the woodwork twice in the second half, but Chelsea appeared to have a strong case for a penalty late on when Joao Pedro went down under a challenge from Jeremie Frimpong.
VAR took a look at the tackle but the on-field decision was not overturned, leaving McFarlane to rue what might have been.
“I thought the game could have went either way really at certain moments in that game,” McFarlane told his post-match press conference.
“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.”
Chelsea stop the rot ahead of cup final
Chelsea have not won a league game since a 4-1 victory at Aston Villa on March 4.
The Blues face Manchester City in the FA Cup final next Saturday, and McFarlane believes it is critical that has side avoided another defeat heading into that contest at Wembley.
“This club needs to win games of football, and we haven’t done that today,” he added.
“We’re not happy with the form and some of the recent performances. So, yeah, it’s nice to have a good, complete performance. It would have been better with a win, but when you come to these places, it’s really difficult. So, yeah, it’s positive.”
