Cesar Azpilicueta had just racked up his 300th Premier League appearance on his 32nd birthday as he strode across the Anfield turf to salute the travelling Blues faithful.

Few of his previous triple century had required as much grit, guts and team spirit as this one as the Blues were forced to battle with a man down for the entire second half following Reece James’s dismissal for a handball on the goal-line.

During the break, the skipper was told he would be shifting to right wing-back, with Thiago Silva coming on to beef up the back-line. The visitors returned to the field with renewed energy and enthusiasm, determined that their defence would not be breached again.

Despite a strong restart from the Reds and a clutch of saves from Edouard Mendy, Thomas Tuchel’s men rode out the initial storm and even fashioned a handful of opportunities to win the game themselves. The point they took back down the M6 to London was thoroughly deserved and all the sweeter for the sweat that went into claiming it.

‘We had to fight,’ said Azpi afterwards. ‘When you are one man down for the whole second half, it is really tough but it was a challenge for us.

‘Everybody had the ambition to go even for a win and we actually had the best two chances in the second half even though they had a lot of possession. The team spirit was brilliant from everybody, we fought together and we got the least reward of a point.’

Emotions were spilling over at the end of the first period as the Blues felt aggrieved at the injustice of James’s red card, yet Azpilicueta claimed those feelings quickly gave way to a sense of calm when the players got back to the dressing room.

Tuchel was dealt another blow as N’Golo Kante was forced off with an ankle injury but the players quickly reset themselves and refocused on the new task at hand.

‘Of course we were angry and everyone had emotions at half-time but we had to adapt,’ he revealed. ‘It was important for us to calm down and find a way to fight together as a team, to have this challenge in a tough place like Anfield.

‘Everybody defended really well, right from Romelu who had a game where he had to sacrifice for the team. We had to make two changes at half-time and had one red card but we adapted really well to the situation.’

Azpilicueta felt we had been the better team while the game was 11 versus 11, albeit having not played at our best against a difficult opponent.

‘We controlled it really well and we had the chance to score a second goal, even though we were not at our best in terms of passing and finding the spaces in the final third,’ he continued.

‘They are a team that presses very well altogether with high intensity and they made it difficult for us but sometimes we were able to find our rhythm. Even though we were not at our best I think we were better than them in the first half.’

With seven points on the board from our opening three league matches, there is a feeling of positivity at Stamford Bridge right now but Azpilicueta cautioned the need to strive for even greater heights once the players return from the upcoming international break.

‘We are a team that has had a few changes so everybody is pushing hard,’ he added. ‘We want to compete and we want to improve every day as a team so we just have to keep working.

‘It is still only the end of August and we’ve played only three games so let’s go step by step. We have conceded only one goal in the three games so let’s keep working and focusing on ourselves.’

Three points would have been the perfect birthday gift for the Spaniard on a milestone day in which he moved to 20th on our all-time list of appearance-makers. Only John Terry, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech have played more in the Premier League than the defender, an achievement that understandably garners pride.

‘I wish it was three points,’ he said ruefully. ‘I spent my birthday here in Liverpool but tomorrow is a day off so I can celebrate it with my family before I fly to Spain with the national team.

‘I feel really proud to play my 300th Premier League game in the toughest league in the world.’