McFarlane lauds Colwill display as Chelsea end losing run with point

Levi Colwill is in Calum McFarlane's plans for the FA Cup final after the returning defender gave a man-of-the-match performance in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Liverpool.

The Blues halted their six-match losing streak in the Premier League and avoided equalling their all-time worst run in league football on Saturday, with Enzo Fernandez's equaliser cancelling out a sixth-minute strike from Ryan Gravenberch.

Following Monday's demoralising 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, McFarlane made five changes to his team, including handing Colwill his first start of the season.

The centre-back suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season, with his most recent start before Saturday coming in the Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain last July.

Chelsea have sacked two managers since then, and interim boss McFarlane believes Colwill's comeback could be a timely boost ahead of next week's clash with Manchester City at Wembley.

"Levi was the best player on the pitch. He was a leader," McFarlane told TNT Sports after full-time.

"It was his first 90 minutes for a long time."

Later, when asked in his post-match press conference if Colwill could start the FA Cup final, McFarlane added: "Definitely, yeah.

"To come to a place like Anfield, facing Liverpool away with a team that has not had much form recently really shows his talent, quality and his mentality."

Colwill had more touches (91) than any other player on the pitch, and only Virgil van Dijk bettered his 73 passes attempted or 65 completed (74/82 for Van Dijk).

Colwill also made more clearances (six) and interceptions (three) than any other player and won all four of his duels.

The 14 shots attempted by the two teams were the second-fewest in any Premier League game this season, after Sunderland and Newcastle United only mustered 11 between them in December.

But Chelsea did see a Cole Palmer goal disallowed due to Marc Cucurella straying offside in the second half, and they held Liverpool to their lowest expected goals tally (0.51 xG) in a home league game since March 2021 – also versus Chelsea.

"It's a good point, a good performance in a game that could have gone either way," McFarlane added. "It was disappointing to concede so early, and it's something we'll look at.

"But I was pleased with the response. I thought the reaction was brilliant and I knew it was something we could do.

"I thought we played some really nice stuff; we finished the half really well. As a whole, the effort, commitment, work rate and desire was good.

"Last Monday was disappointing. We reviewed it and spoke about the reaction we wanted. I felt we got that, and it's something we can build on."

But with Chelsea still winless in seven league games and looking like outsiders to qualify for Europe, McFarlane knows not everything is perfect. 

"This club needs to win games of football, and we haven't done that today," he said. 

"We're not happy with the form and some of the recent performances, so it's nice to have a good, complete performance.

"It would have been better with a win, but when you come to these places, it's really difficult. It's a positive day."