Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was pleased to see his side earn a 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Anfield.
The visitors were on the back foot for much of Tuesday's game, but took the lead through Eden Hazard's 18th-minute penalty after the Belgian had been felled by Emre Can inside the box.
That proved to be Chelsea's only shot on target throughout the match, as Liverpool poured forward in search of an equaliser from then on.
The leveller arrived shortly before the hour courtesy of Raheem Sterling's fine individual effort, and the home side looked the more likely to find a winner as Steven Gerrard struck the post before Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a superb stop to deny Adam Lallana.
"I think it's a fair result, I don't think Liverpool deserved to lose because they performed really well," Mourinho told Sky Sports.
"But we were in control, maybe with a bit more quality in our passing we could find space and score more goals.
"I really don't remember saves from [Simon] Mignolet and Thibaut had a couple of important saves and Steven Gerrard hit the post.
"The important thing for us is this semi-final is two legs and now it is only one leg at Stamford Bridge.
"I'm not saying we are the favourites, I'm saying the semi-final is one leg because this was a draw and because of that we have to win at Stamford Bridge, and Liverpool has to win at Stamford Bridge.
"It's difficult to play here but I love it. Sometimes people consider the League Cup a secondary competition than the others but we and Liverpool respect it."
