by James Nalton

at Anfield

Jurgen Klopp believes his Liverpool side can learn a lot from Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea and commented that in this respect it was their most important game of the season.

With a Europa League final less than a week away, Liverpool sent out a strong side and one which should start against Sevilla in Basel next Wednesday.

“I said to my players after the game it was the most important game of the season because we could learn [the] most from it,” said Klopp.

“We showed in the first 15 minutes what we are capable of. We were great, [it was] wonderful football without scoring. 

“But there was not enough faith in our own quality so we lost patience and when you lose patience in football it’s always difficult. Without patience, we lost formation.”

Though the game produced occasional entertainment, it lacked the intensity of previous battles between Liverpool and Chelsea.

The rivalry between the two grew when both sides were regularly involved in the latter stages of the European Cup, often facing each other, and when both were challenging among the top four in the league. 

In this game, there were sporadic moments of enthusiasm from both sets of fans and the players showed some bite but both clubs long for a time when this rivalry was played out on football’s biggest stages.

Eden Hazard lit up the evening with an outstanding solo effort in the first half evading several Liverpool defenders before curling the ball around Dejan Lovren into the bottom corner in front of the Kop.

“He has a lot of talent, is clever and can play one-on-one and he is physically and mentally fit and it is a pleasure to see,” said his manager Guus Hiddink.

“The last few weeks he has been working on a programme to be fully fit and now steadily he has got his shape and then you can see what he is able to do.”

Liverpool striker Christian Benteke headed home a late equaliser which meant his compatriot’s excellent goal wouldn’t be a match winner, leaving the home fans content if not quite happy.