Reds manager Arne Slot faced boos from sections of the home crowd in what he acknowledged was a deeply frustrating afternoon.
Chelsea midfielder Fernández struck from distance on 35 minutes after Gravenberch's early goal had given Liverpool the lead. Cole Palmer then had a goal correctly ruled out for offside after a VAR check, and a Chelsea penalty appeal for a foul on João Pedro was waved away. Liverpool had chances to win it in the second half but could not find the decisive goal, extending a run of home performances that have drawn growing anger from the Anfield faithful this season.
Slot was jeered by sections of the crowd when he substituted teenage Chelsea loanee Rio Ngumoha, 17, who had assisted the opening goal. He addressed the reaction directly.
"I knew the moment his number went up that that would have been the reaction. But that's not a reason not to do it and keep a player in the team that tells me he cannot continue. He had cramps before that. I don't think he is at the level yet to play at 50 or 60 per cent and make the difference. But maybe the fans have a different opinion."
He was equally clear-eyed on the broader context of the boos.
"I think it also makes sense, because I don't think this club should be happy with a 1-1 result against Chelsea. We always aim for a win and if we don't win, we're disappointed. And especially in a season where we haven't won as much as people expect us to do, it's just building up frustration."
On Chelsea's growing dominance after Liverpool's early lead, Slot was candid about where his side lost control.
"We played against a team that got more and more comfortable on the ball. They had a lot of midfielders — no wingers available — so they controlled the midfield and started to pass through us more and more. It was difficult to change that during the first half. But I think you might have noticed that at half-time we changed things. That didn't lead straight away to what we wanted, but afterwards we were much more able to press them high and keep them in their half."
He rejected any suggestion his approach had been passive.
"I think it's not fair to me that anyone could ever think that I tell my players to back off and not to press. Either you haven't seen my teams playing last season, or large parts of this season. That was never the intention."
On the recurring problem of failing to convert pressure into goals, Slot was blunt.
"It's so simple. What the fans want to see, what I want to see, what everyone wants to see, is a team that creates chances from ball possession. If you simply look at the difference between the goals scored last season and this season, it's an enormous gap. And judging a performance is mainly done by results. Last season we found a way to score a goal many times. This season we are struggling with that. And that's just when you look at the goalscorers this season compared to last season — that's a massive difference."
He was nonetheless honest about where confidence in next season begins.
"Not this season — this season they will have their opinion and it will not change. But if we can have the summer that we are planning to have, then I am 100 per cent convinced we will be a different team next season. Different in terms of results, different in how things look. I know what we are lacking this season. And I know what we need."
Liverpool face Aston Villa on Friday. Gravenberch is a doubt after a heavy collision late in the game, while Ibrahima Konaté came off with what he described as cramp.