Calum McFarlane hailed returning defender Levi Colwill as the ‘best player on the pitch’ after Chelsea’s draw with Liverpool.
Chelsea’s run of six straight Premier League defeats came to an end on Saturday as the Blues clinched a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
McFarlane would have been fearing the worse when Ryan Gravenberch curled home a superb opener for Liverpool inside after just six minutes.
But Enzo Fernandez’s cross-come-shot brought Chelsea level before half-time and both teams wasted chances to secure the win in the second half.
Chelsea interim boss McFarlane was pleased with his team’s response to a deflating 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out and felt the visitors were unlucky not to win the game.
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 can be really aggressive.
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more about your favourite team.
‘He also gives us a lot of balance, he did everything at a really high level today. To play like that after being out for nearly a year speaks to his character and who he is.’
Discussing Chelsea’s performance as a whole, McFarlane added: ‘It’s good to get some momentum back.
‘I thought we could’ve won the game because there were moments that didn’t quite go our way, but it’s good to recover after the Forest game and we need to build on that in the final [next weekend’s FA Cup final against Manchester City] which will be a massive challenge.
‘We didn’t reach the standard we know we’re capable of against Nottingham Forest, it was really disappointing.
‘But there were some good signs from the team today so I’m really happy with the performance.’
Despite stopping the rot at Anfield, Chelsea could be in the bottom-half of the Premier League at the end of the weekend.
Liverpool, meanwhile, stay fourth and on course for Champions League qualification despite another underwhelming performance from Arne Slot’s reigning champions.
Speaking after the draw, Slot said: ‘We started off really well and got a big chance from a set-piece which was close to making it 2-0.
‘Unfortunately, like last week, we conceded a set piece. It was such a sloppy goal.
‘The second half I saw a completely different intensity. We went close a few times. Like so many times this season, we hit the post and bar.
‘We were not able to control their players. They played with a lot of midfielders today.’
Reacting to the boos from the Liverpool fans that rang out at the full-time whistle, Slot added: ‘That’s probably got something to do with us not winning.
‘It completely makes sense people are disappointed if Liverpool don’t win.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.