Liverpool had to share the spoils at Stamford Bridge last night in their Premier League clash with Chelsea but Jurgen Klopp will be relieved to take a point from the performance.
The Reds are now seven points adrift of the top four following their stalemate in west London and will need to take much more from their ten remaining fixtures ahead if they are to secure a Champions League qualifying spot for next season.
Despite having more possession (51%), more shots on target (4 v 3) and completing more accurate passes (449 v 437), Liverpool were unable to secure the important three points needed – lacking creativity and discipline throughout the game.
It was nothing new for the two teams who collected their third consecutive 0-0 draw against each other in the Premier League, despite the Liverpool boss making a number of big changes to his starting XI.
Kostas Tsimikas, Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones, Roberto Firmino, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez were all brought in to give the line-up a refresh following the defeat to Manchester City and although a point was earned, the changes didn't make a big enough impact to secure all three points.
Similar inconsistencies remained and a lack of creativity from the midfield into the final third cost the Anfield outfit opportunities to take the game by the scruff of the neck and ultimately cost them the chance to close the gap with the top four even further.
Although the Merseysiders lacked quality all over the pitch and most players wouldn't feel that their individual performances were up to scratch, it was Tsimikas who arguably had the biggest nightmare after being handed a rare start over fellow left-back Andy Robertson.
How did Tsimikas play vs Chelsea?
The Greek left-back has been a worthy back-up for Robertson and has even competed for the position on occasions since his arrival at Anfield back in 2020.
However, under the lights at Stamford Bridge last night, Tsimikas struggled to make his presence known on the left flank and became more of a hindrance than a help.
Over his performance, the £50k-per-week dud was dubbed "shocking" by sports consultant Dinesh Kumar with his opening five minutes, in particular, a cause for concern.
Via Sofascore, the defender lost possession of the ball a whopping 17 times having failed to complete five of his six crosses on a truly wasteful evening.
He wasn't great from a defensive point of view either, failing to make any interceptions, losing five duels and committing three fouls.
The Greece international was also dribbled past once before being hooked for Robertson on 66 minutes.
There is a lot to take away from last night's performance for Klopp going into the Arsenal game on Sunday at Anfield and although Tsimikas is great for bringing on a fresh pair of legs in the second half, there is no doubt he remains in the shadow of Robertson in terms of quality on the ball and creativity.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Klopp continues to tweak his starting XI or revert to relying on his most experienced and trusted players for the clash against the league leaders this weekend. On the evidence of Tuesday evening, turning to Tsimikas again would be a big risk.
