Chelsea's losing run ends at Anfield

There are easier places to end a losing run than Anfield, and for long stretches of this game it looked like Chelsea were going to leave Merseyside with a seventh straight Premier League defeat to their name. Ryan Gravenberch had put Liverpool ahead, and the home side looked comfortable enough. Then Enzo Fernandez had other ideas.

Fernandez's equaliser — the moment Chelsea had been desperately searching for across six winless weeks — levelled things up and earned his side a point that, given the circumstances, felt considerably more valuable than the single digit it adds to their tally. A 1-1 draw at Anfield, according to BBC Sport, is how the six-game skid finally ends.

The goal that mattered

Gravenberch had given Liverpool the lead, the kind of composed, authoritative performance that has made him one of the Premier League's most quietly influential midfielders this season. But Fernandez's response was the story. The Argentine has had a complicated few years at Chelsea — the price tag, the expectation, the inconsistency — and a goal at Anfield to drag his side out of a rut is exactly the kind of moment that reminds you what he's actually capable of.

He didn't celebrate like a man who'd just scored a winner. He celebrated like a man who'd just exhaled for the first time in six weeks.

What it means for both sides

For Chelsea, the relief is obvious. Six consecutive Premier League defeats is the sort of run that starts conversations about managers, about squads, about direction — and stopping it, even with a draw, buys breathing room. A point from Anfield is a point from Anfield. You don't apologise for that.

For Liverpool, the dropped points are a different kind of headache. Arne Slot's side have been one of the division's most consistent teams, and surrendering a home lead to a Chelsea side that arrived on the back of that losing streak is the sort of result that lingers — particularly if the margins at the top of the table stay tight. BBC Sport's report confirms the scoreline and the goalscorers; the full picture of what it costs Liverpool in the standings will sharpen over the coming days.