Willian equaliser earns Chelsea draw at Liverpool

A spectacular goal from Willian cancelled out Mohamed Salah's opener as Chelsea fought back to earn a draw at Anfield here.

The Brazilian came off the bench late to bring his side level five minutes before the end of a scrappy, rainswept affair on Saturday night, with both the football teams showing signs of fatigue after away Champions League games in midweek, reports Efe.

Liverpool opened the scoring in the 65th minute through their summer signing from Roma, former Chelsea player Mohamed Salah, after good work from Philippe Coutinho.

Chelsea had looked the more dangerous in the first half, with Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard at the heart of everything going forward for the visitors.

Despite the threat they carried in the counter attack, they were largely restricted to shots from a distance, their final ball often letting them down.

Chelsea were set up defensively, having left Willian, Fabregas and Pedro on the bench, with only Alvaro Morata and Hazard as recognisable attack-minded starters.

As Liverpool struggled to breakdown the visitors' rear-guard, the Anfield crowd began to get restless, their side's surrender of three second half goals at Sevilla on Wednesday surely on their minds.

The Reds started to come into the game as an attacking force as the first half drew to a close, after Chelsea failed to capitalize on promising openings they created on the break.

The second period continued in the same vein as the first, with Chelsea threatening on the counter as Liverpool continued to press forward in search of the opener.

The breakthrough came just after the hour-mark, with the league's leading goalscorer Mohamed Salah finishing coolly against his former team after he seized on a mistake by Tiemoue Bakayoko on the edge of the box.

Chelsea sent in Fabregas and Willian in search of a leveller, which they got in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, although Willian will surely claim his lofted chip that sailed over Simon Mignolet's head into the Liverpool goal was deliberate, rather than intended as a cross to the waiting Alvaro Morata at the back post.

--IANS

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