Chelsea were held by Everton on Thursday to fall four points behind Manchester City, while Liverpool navigated their own scare to keep the pressure.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has provided his reaction to Chelsea dropping crucial points at home to Everton in the race to win the Premier League.
The Blues dominated for much of the game at Stamford Bridge, enjoying 80 per cent of the possession and having 23 shots on Jordan Pickford’s goal in total.
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But they were unable to make all of that attacking threat count, with Jarrod Brainthwaite equalising only four minutes after Mason Mount’s opening goal to steal a point for the Toffees.
The result could be a key turning point in the race for the title, with Chelsea now four points off leaders Manchester City and three behind Liverpool in second position.
The Reds had to deal with their own precarious situation on Thursday, coming from a goal down to secure what was ultimately a comfortable victory against Newcastle.
Jonjo Shelvey’s superb strike had put Newcastle ahead, but two quick goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah turned the game on its head. Alexander-Arnold then fired in a late thunderbolt to seal all three points and their position as Man City’s closest challenger.
But while Liverpool were able to negotiate that potential scare, Chelsea were not as successful against Everton.
The draw leaves Chelsea’s title hopes on life support, a situation that Klopp has said he did not expect heading into Thursday’s fixtures.
“I didn’t expect Chelsea would drop points, it is pretty rare I don’t know five or six players of the Everton line up so to get a point at Chelsea is massive,” he said.
“We did not think about it, we just said do our job on the pitch, it is pretty similar to the last game of Eddie Howe here with Bournemouth – similar set-up, tactics, we go 1-0 down again, we used that game more than Newcastle games.
“You have to react, I am really pleased but I expect it as well, it is not that we celebrate we came back.
“We used that time with hard work, not only brilliant football, some good football, very dominant, it is not so easy to play against such a deep block.
“We have already a few games in our legs, I love how the boys dug in really deep and got a very deserved result.”
