Andy Hunter was at Anfield. Here’s his match report. Thanks for reading this MBM.

That point consolidates Liverpool’s ownership of fourth spot. But only a little bit. Aston Villa can swipe it from them with a win at Burnley tomorrow … then Unai Emery’s men host Liverpool next Friday, in what promises to be a tense showdown, even if Villa will have one eye on the Europa League final five days later. Chelsea remain in ninth, but Everton, Fulham and Sunderland will all have something to say about that later this weekend. Calum McFarlane’s men turn their attention to next Saturday’s FA Cup final.

There’s some steam coming out the top of our post-match postbag. “So, Chiesa finally on the field. Kudos to the Anfield crowd for their applause and good judgement, the latter unlike the head coach’s. Amid Liverpool’s manifold problems up front, Slot has not once started Chiesa. At best he’s brought on with minutes to go. Today yet again we have the season-long misfire Gakpo as the ‘striker’. Compatriot favouritism? Slot blind spot? Surely one of the many mandarins in the LFC corporate hierarchy should have had a word with the head coach by now. No shortage of those: head of football, sporting director, technical director, and holders of other inflationary titles these failed players-turned-grandees occupy at Anfield and other clubs across the land” – Darryl Accone

TNT ask Wesley Fofana whether or not he’s the scorer of Chelsea’s goal. “I think! … I don’t know if I touched the ball … it’s either me or Enzo … it was a good goal … important … yeah, I’m happy … to be honest, no [I didn’t feel the touch] … but everyone says on the video I touched the ball so I touched the ball! … we worked on that during the week.”

The player of the match Marc Cucurella adds: “The effort today was really good … it is not our best moment … but today we showed we fight together … a bit of confidence because next week we have a massive game [the FA Cup final].”

To be fair to Liverpool, they were the better side in the second half. They hit the woodwork twice, and had a goal disallowed. But Chelsea had a goal wiped off themselves, and their own period of dominance, during the second portion of the first half, was the most cohesive spell by either side. Although if you were to boil it all down, neither team particularly impressed. Liverpool were the home side, though, and are still, for what it’s worth, the reigning champions. Their decline has been precipitous … and so the booing, first of the withdrawal of the exciting Rio Ngumoha, then of the result and concomitant stodgy performance, was loud and unambiguous. Is this approaching untenable for Arne Slot? Days like this aren’t helping, put it that way.

90 min +6: Mamardashvili has the opportunity to bowl Chiesa into acres of space on the left … but overthrows. Groans. That just about sums up Liverpool’s performance.

90 min +5: On TNT Sports, Ally McCoist names Marc Cucurella as his player of the match. There should be no argument. The Chelsea wing-back has been superb.

90 min +4: Isak takes matters into his own hands with a power dribble down the right. He cuts back but Caicedo is on point to clear. Then Mac Allister is booked for a whack on Pedro’s heel.

90 min +3: Frimpong makes ground down the right and passes infield to … nobody. Liverpool’s attack is so disjointed.

90 min +2: Cucurella advances down the left and rolls across for Palmer. If the pass is played perfectly, Palmer is in. But it’s not. Liverpool lucky that the ball goes behind Palmer, who is forced to check his run. The danger over.

90 min: It looks like Pedro hooks his leg around Frimpong, instigating the contact. So that’s not going to be given. And it’s not. Caicedo is booked for speaking his mind. There will be seven additional minutes.

89 min: Pedro dribbles into the Liverpool box down the left and goes over in a tangle with Frimpong. VAR is going to take a look at this.

88 min: Gomez is booked for delaying the restart.

87 min: Chelsea, who will be happy with a point that would snap their six-match losing run, play some patient passing moves and bring down the temperature.

85 min: Szoboszlai loops the corner long from the left. Isak hooks it back into the centre from the right. Jorgensen claims.

84 min: Szoboszlai hoicks the free kick long. The ball rears up and hits Gusto on the arm, but Liverpool aren’t getting a penalty for that. They do get a corner soon after, though, thanks to Chiesa’s industry.

83 min: Cucurella is booked for a cynical drag on Frimpong. A free kick out on the right touchline.

82 min: Chiesa shapes to shoot but stubs his toe in the turf. Liverpool’s season in microcosm.

80 min: … but neither referee nor VAR shows any interest in awarding one.

79 min: … and Van Dijk crashes a header off the top of the crossbar and out! He wants a penalty, with Caicedo hugging him tightly …

78 min: Isak steals the ball and drives down the right wing, but can’t jink his way past Cucurella. He does, with the help of Frimpong, win a corner. Szoboszlai to take.

77 min: Liverpool make a double change, replacing Konate and Gakpo with Gomez and Chiesa. Both incoming players warmly greeted, another message to the manager perhaps.

76 min: Pedro swans past Mac Allister down the inside-left channel and into the box. He aims a curler towards the top right. Just wide, just over. Mac Allister and the equally culpable Konate breathe again.

74 min: Szoboszlai flings the resulting free kick into the box from the right. Colwill is forced to head over under pressure … but then he deals with the resulting corner by heading it clear.

73 min: … and now Fernandez follows his guvnor into the book for hanging a leg across Jones.

72 min: Chelsea’s interim boss Calum McFarlane is shown a yellow card for making too much of a fuss over a free kick awarded against Cucurella.

71 min: Szoboszlai cuts in from the left and cracks a glorious low drive off the base of the left-hand post. Jorgensen beaten all ends up. What an effort!

70 min: Ringo is an Arsenal fan, mind. The influence of his Londoner stepfather.

68 min: Hato is booked for a cynical tug on Frimpong’s arm. Nothing comes of the resulting free kick.

67 min: Arne Slot sends on Isak in place of the popular Ngumoha, and the Anfield crowd let the manager know their opinion of the decision in no uncertain terms. Beaucoups of boos, as one of the city’s four most famous sons so nearly sang.

66 min: James’s first act is to spray a long ball down the left for Cucurella, who once again causes Jones all sorts of trouble. A corner is won. But then it’s overturned. Goal kick.

64 min: Chelsea benefit from a couple of garden-variety decisions – a free kick here, a throw there – and the crowd yell in irritation. Less with the referee than their team, I’ll be bound. “Liverpool fans might be unhappy but isn’t it refreshing to watch a team which hasn’t been over-coached?” Please put your hands together for Niall Mullen and his arched eyebrow, ladies and gentlemen.

63 min: Chelsea make the first change of the afternoon, replacing Santos with their captain James.

62 min: Szoboszlai nearly nicks the ball off Jorgensen mid-Cruyff-turn. The keeper living dangerously there.

61 min: Liverpool have responded well to the shock of nearly going behind. A disallowed goal of their own, and a ratcheting up of the press. Anfield approves.

60 min: Frimpong again down the right. He cuts back, the ball pinging off the sliding Hato’s supporting arm. No penalty. The ball breaks to Szoboszlai, who arrows a rising shot towards the top right. Jorgensen tips around the post, great football all round. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.

58 min: Now it’s Liverpool’s turn to have a goal disallowed. Frimpong advances down the right and cuts back for Szoboszlai, who crosses to the far post. Gakpo heads across the face of goal for Jones, who flicks a header home from close range. But Gakpo had drifted needlessly offside. The flag goes up immediately.

57 min: Konate pearls a pass down the right for Jones, who looks to be clear on goal … but is hauled back in a footrace with that man Cucurella, who is everywhere. Jones is forced to check back, and though he finds Frimpong infield, all momentum is gone.

55 min: Mac Allister now clatters into Cucurella, hard but fair, at the expense of a corner. From which nothing comes. Mac Allister running a bit hot here.

54 min: … and then a throughly frustrated Mac Allister comes flying across to challenge Gusto. He times the tackle just so, but had he arrived a split second later, he’d have cleaned out his man and would probably be continuing his hysterical journey down the tunnel for an early bath.

53 min: When the Palmer goal was disallowed, Arne Slot wore a look not of relief, but of thorough defeat. The vibes not good at Anfield.

52 min: Ngumoha feeds Gakpo down the left. Gakpo takes a heavy touch and runs the ball out of play. The denizens of the Kop not 100 percent impressed.

51 min: Jones and Frimpong exchange views. Neither man seems to know who should be picking up Cucurella. From a Liverpool point of view, it’s an absolute shambles.

48 min: … and when it’s swung in by Szoboszlai, Mac Allister heads over the bar. “Chelsea are clearly dominating this very poor Liverpool team now but you’d have to say these Chelsea players are a bunch of absolute chancers who obviously decide to play a bit when they’re facing a ‘big’ team or a semi-final,” suggests Stephen McCrossan.

47 min: Gusto skittles Frimpong out on the right. A free kick in much the same position from which Fernandez Fofana scored …

Liverpool get the second half started. No changes. They had just one shot on target in that first half. Their xG was 0.31. Just four touches in the Chelsea box compared to the opposition, who took 16 in theirs.

TNT Sports have just replayed the Chelsea goal, zoomed in close, at super-slow motion. Turns out we were right first time: it’s Fofana’s goal. He hangs out his leg as Fernandez’s low delivery comes curling into the box from the right. A brush of the studs nudges the ball forward … along exactly the same path as it was heading, into the bottom-left corner, but the touch makes it his goal.

Half-time advertising break / half-time entertainment. The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?

45 min: Ngumoha wins the ball in the middle of the park, but there’s nobody else in red up with the play. He’s forced to turn tail. More concerned muttering. There will be two additional first-half minutes.

43 min: Frimpong wins a throw in Chelsea territory. Some ironic cheering from the home fans. That it’s come to this for the champions of England.

41 min: Liverpool regain a semblance of control with some patient passing in the middle of the park. Baby steps. They only look truly comfortable when attacking, though. Any Slot-ian attempt at control inevitably ends in farce.

39 min: Chelsea should be leading. A simple ball down the middle, and Fernandez is clear! He shoots low and hard. Mamardashvili saves brilliantly, but the home fans are now almost mutinous. They are running hot.

37 min: A caveat: that might be Fernandez’s goal. In fact, it’s been given to him. It looked like it brushed Fofana’s boot, but here we are. Meanwhile Chelsea come again, Pedro taking a whack that’s blocked. The home fans are now fuming. Liverpool were in control of this game, then decided to sit back, and now are all over the shop!

34 min: Liverpool have the ball on halfway, turn tail, and eventually it’s back with Mamardashvili, who slices it out of play for a throw on the right. From that, Gakpo clatters Fofana, and it’s a free kick in a dangerous position.

32 min: … and here he is, first winning a corner off Konate, then nearly latching onto a Santos pass down the left channel. Liverpool can’t get close to him at all, and Chelsea are playing their way back into this match. They’ve enjoyed 89 percent of possession during the last five minutes.

30 min: Caicedo wedges another lovely pass down the inside-left channel. Cucurella bursts clear, into the box, but his chest down drops to Mamardashvili, who smothers. Cucurella is an absolute menace, integral to everything good Chelsea are now doing.

29 min: Liverpool get passive for the first time this afternoon, allowing Chelsea to probe patiently down both flanks. The home fans don’t like it. A fair bit of disapproval.

27 min: Caicedo shovels a pass down the left to release Cucurella, with Jones miles out of position. Cucurella enters the box and creams a low drive from a tight angle. Mamardashvili palms away from danger. A fine shot with a save to match. Cucurella looks to be Chelsea’s main threat, he’s been a constant presence out on the left.

25 min: Chelsea had started with a back four. Now they’ve gone to a back three. Colwill goes long, hoping to release Cucurella down the left. Konate ushers the ball out for a goal kick, but is thrown to the ground by the Chelsea man for his trouble. Konate smiles, having enjoyed the tussle. The next duel could be worth keeping an eye on.

23 min: Now it’s Gravenberch’s turn to spin into space and send Ngumoha away down the left. Ngumoha elegantly dribbles across the face of the box, at one point drawing five blue shirts, and still manages to poke the ball to his right for Gakpo … who can’t get a shot away, and is offside anyway. I would say the 17-year-old Ngumoha is going to be some player … but he already is. So much fun to watch.

21 min: With the number 20 on the clock, thoughts turn to Diogo Jota. Better than Figo, don’t you know. Anfield warmly applauds.

20 min: … but this is better, Palmer spinning into space down the middle and slipping a pass between the centre-backs for Pedro. Mamardashvili is off his line quickly to smother at the striker’s feet.

18 min: Chelsea, who have scored once in the Premier League in their last six games, currently have an xG of 0.05. The away end is already grumbling a bit at their team’s inability to advance upfield.

16 min: Colwill tries to beat Mamardashvili, on walkabout, slightly out of position, from the halfway line. Full marks for ambition if not execution. “Let’s temper the sunny optimism, shall we Scott?” asks Graeme Neill, and that’s fine by me. “I think Mo had a point when he talked about leadership this week. While I don’t want to be all Captain Yesterday, a few seasons back there were probably four or five players who could have justifiably captained the side. Now? Van Dijk, Szob and, um... Maybe the role of the captain is overstated in the English game but they’re still people setting the agenda for the wider team. I don’t see anyone who could dish out a Milner-esque bollocking if they’re cruising anymore. But we’re now 1-0 up so who needs leaders, eh?”

14 min: Kerkez has the opportunity to release the electric Ngumoha down the left, but hesitates and the chance is gone. He has the good grace to offer a gesture of apology in his young team-mate’s direction.

13 min: Liverpool look lively, and Ngumoha jinks his way down the left, making enough space to cross. Nobody in red in the middle can get a shot away, and Chelsea hack clear. Liverpool have started so slowly so often this season, but not today.

11 min: Frimpong’s right-wing cross is deflected out for a corner. Mac Allister takes it short, back up the right wing. Szoboszlai swings towards Van Dijk on the left edge of the six-yard box. He’s got to score, surely, but leans back and skies the shot over the bar. VAR might have ruled any goal out for offside … but Fernandez was tangling with Van Dijk nanoseconds earlier, and might have played him on.

10 min: … so that was nearly an instant response from Chelsea, and Anfield is suddenly bit sullen as a result. Cucurella tries again down the left but can’t keep the ball in play. Chelsea clearly targeting the stand-in Liverpool right-back Jones.

8 min: That’s got Anfield bubbling away nicely. But then there’s a collective sharp intake of breath as Cucurella whips a cross in from the left. Gusto hooks it back into the middle from the right, hoping that Pedro can force home. But Van Dijk sticks his head in bravely to block and clear.

7 min: OK, maybe that wasn’t quite tucked into the postage stamp. But it was still a lovely finish, and the keeper, at full stretch, couldn’t get anywhere near it.

5 min: Szoboszlai blooters the free kick straight into the wall. But it doesn’t matter, because when the ball’s recycled …

4 min: Liverpool finally turn up for work, and Kerkez advances down the inside right before being clanked to the ground by Caicedo. A free kick, 30 yards out, and Szoboszlai looks like he fancies it.

3 min: Liverpool having avoided conceding farcically, they now allow Palmer a shot from a tight angle on the left. Mamardashvili again the only man on point. He gathers.

2 min: All a bit strange as Cucurella takes a very quick throw and Pedro dribbles a shot inches wide of the bottom left. Liverpool completely asleep, bar Mamardashvili, as though nothing whatsoever was going on. “We have a token Aussie here,” begins Julian Menz of Pre-match Postbag fame, “and she wants me to tell Matt Dony: ‘chill your undies mate, you’ll win’. Not quite sure about that, but anyway.”

Chelsea get the ball rolling at a lovely sunny Anfield. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this first half.

The teams are out! Liverpool in socialist red, Chelsea in royal blue. Anfield crackles with anticipation, albeit in that slightly understated 12.30pm-on-Saturday style. We’ll be off in a couple of Gerry-and-the-Pacemakers-soundtracked minutes. “I enjoyed the pre-match postbag,” trills Rob Knap. “I’m very much one of the (many, I imagine) rubberneckers today. My partner’s gone out and I’m a bit under the weather, sniffle, cough, etc - classic man flu - then I saw that Liverpool-Chelsea was on. How I’ve perked up! (Though that also might be the combo of too many Lemsips and extra-strong Lockets.) I foresee unbearable tension, slapstick defending and high aggro potential (not that any of us want to see any of the latter, of course).” Of course not.

Today’s pre-match postbag is positively brimming with optimism from both sets of supporters. “We’ve got our projector thingymajig working, the neighbours are bustling around, the grill is on. The perfect set-up for the local Chelsea fan to be utterly humiliated. My daughter just asked me, in her best English: ‘Are your team still crap dad?’ I’m absolutely buzzing for this one” – Julian Menz

“Ha! Joke’s on you! I’m already fuming! I mean, I’ve been through pretty much every negative emotion at some point in this season, but right now I’ll settle on ‘furious’. The first half last week in particular was pathetic. I’m not Slot Out (yet); he showed last season that he’s an excellent coach. He consistently made good tactical decisions and in-game alterations. It’s laughable to dismiss his title win as ‘Klopp’s side’. He was a huge part of it. But something has to change. I don’t know how or what. I don’t know what the summer will hold. I just know I want this season to be over. Isn’t football great?” – Matt Dony

“You want optimism? I got optimism! The sun is out, the sky is blue, there’s not a cloud to spoil the view but it’s.... wait what?” – Ian Copestake

“Looking forward to this. Can they both lose?” – Joshua Keeling

Arne Slot talks to TNT Sports. “A big opportunity … there are only three games to get four points [to be sure of Champions League qualification] so you have to take every opportunity there is … this is the first one … a home game against a very good team … we have to be really good off the ball … Chelsea are very comfortable on the ball and can play through you … quality players … that’s the way not to concede … if you want to win the game, as we want to, you need to be much more of an offensive threat from open play than we were last week against Man United … we had a lot of the ball but hardly could create a chance … we have to do better … [Rio Ngumoha] has played a lot … he has done really well … it is really nice to have him … but we are missing a lot of attacking threat today … all the goals Mo [Salah] has scored … Alex [Isak] is off the bench … Florian [Wirtz] is not available … Hugo [Ekitike] is not available … but the good thing is Rio is, Cody [Gakpo] is and Jeremie [Frimpong] is …Wirtz tried everything to be in it but has an infection in the stomach … he wasn’t feeling well during the week … things got worse and he wasn’t able to train.”

Both squads are depleted of first-team regulars, so depending how the game pans out, we could witness a Premier League debut or two this afternoon. Liverpool have striker Will Wright and defender Mor Talla Ndiaye, both 18, on the bench, alongside 19-year-old winger Kieran Morrison, while Chelsea could call on a couple of 17-year-old attackers in Ryan Kavuma‑McQueen and Mathis Eboue, the latter son of erstwhile Arsenal defender Emmanuel. Liverpool’s 18-year-old midfield prospect Trey Nyoni, with five Premier League appearances under his belt and 19 overall, seems a grizzled veteran by comparison.

The interim Chelsea boss Calum McFarlane speaks to TNT Sports. “We need to improve the performance from the Forest game … especially around setbacks and resilience and ability to react to moments that don’t go our way … I’d say that'd be the main thing … being honest and open … highlighting areas we need to improve … we’ve had to be creative with how we line the team up and make sure we have enough threat.”

Both teams have been all over the shop all season … but they can still salvage something from their disappointing campaigns. Should Liverpool win today, they’ll be on the verge of Champions League qualification; only Bournemouth could theoretically pip them, and if the Cherries fail to beat Fulham in today’s 3pms it’d be rubber-stamped. Chelsea by contrast can’t make the top five … and yet Europe is far from a pipe dream. A win in the FA Cup final would guarantee them Europa League football next season, while if they can make it to sixth spot, the Champions League would be on the cards if Aston Villa win the Europa League final and finish fifth (but only fifth). Don’t ask why, life’s too short.

Alexander Isak returns for Liverpool, but only as a named sub. The exciting 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha starts. Giorgi Mamardashvili is also back from injury and takes over from Freddie Woodman in goal. Florian Wirtz has a stomach bug and misses out altogether. And there’s still no Mohamed Salah, with time running out for the hamstrung living legend to make his Anfield curtain call. It’s Brentford in a fortnight’s time or bust.

Chelsea make a switch between the sticks too. Robert Sanchez picked up a head injury after colliding with Morgan Gibbs-White at Nottingham Forest and makes way for Filip Jorgensen. Should anything happen to the stand-in, the 21-year-old USA international Gaga Slonina will make his Chelsea debut. Levi Colwill makes his first start of the season after a long-term knee injury.