Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool: Bruno´s Blues held as VAR denies Havertz

Chelsea endured a frustrating start to the post-Graham Potter era as they shared a 0-0 Premier League draw with Liverpool, a VAR check denying Kai Havertz a winner at Stamford Bridge.

Interim Blues boss Bruno Saltor saw his team create plenty of chances against a much-changed Reds side after Jurgen Klopp omitted Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and other key players from his starting XI.

However, Chelsea’s familiar attacking woes were on full display as Havertz saw a potentially decisive strike ruled out for handball to cap a wasteful performance.

While the result keeps Chelsea inside the bottom half, Liverpool failed to make up ground on their rivals for a top-four finish as their winless run was extended to four games across all competitions.

8 – Chelsea have failed to score in the first half of each of their last eight Premier League games at Stamford Bridge, their joint-longest such run in the competition, with the previous instance coming between November 1992 and March 1993. Chore. pic.twitter.com/DFtpunJY9h

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 4, 2023

Chelsea started brightly as Mateo Kovacic forced Ibrahima Konate into a sliding goal-line clearance, before Alisson smothered Havertz’s close-range flick following good work from Ben Chilwell.

Reece James thought he had volleyed Chelsea ahead after 24 minutes, but an offside call against Enzo Fernandez in the build-up saw his powerful finish chalked off.

Having offered virtually nothing as an attacking force, Liverpool almost snatched the lead on the stroke of half-time, Wesley Fofana crucially deflecting Fabinho’s volley around the post.

Kovacic fired over from a glaring one-on-one chance after the interval, before Havertz was denied the opener by a VAR review when the German’s tame finish bounced back off Alisson and found the net via his arm.

Joao Felix sent a wild volley over as Chelsea continued to create the clearest opportunities late on, with even the introduction of Salah failing to inspire out-of-form Liverpool.