In the end, this goalless affair was entirely fitting for what was nothing more than a mid-table skirmish of little consequence to the Premier League's frontrunners this season.
A dour 0-0 was exactly how it sounds; two ordinary teams bereft of confidence, struggling for form and battered by injuries. In hindsight, it was no surprise they failed to lay a glove on one another.
That Liverpool were able to 'celebrate' moving up the table to the dizzy heights of eighth as Chelsea remained rooted in 10th summed up the depths to which both clubs have plummeted during this difficult campaign.
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And while Graham Potter continues to have high-profile, big-money signings foisted upon his bloated, unbalanced squad, Jurgen Klopp has the entirely opposite problem to deal with as his efforts to negotiate one of the toughest periods of his Anfield career without any significant investment outside of a £37m deal for Cody Gakpo go on.
Chelsea started this one with Benoit Badiashile (£35m) and Marc Cucurella (£62m) as players brought to the club in the last two transfer windows and were able to sub in Mykhailo Mudryk (£88m) and Carney Chukwuemeka (£20m) in the second half as they searched for a breakthrough.
Klopp was able to name Gakpo from the start and call on Darwin Nunez from the bench but he has been forced, in the main, to continue operating with the same players.
In a transfer window that has seen the demands for at least one new midfielder perhaps reach peak levels, it was telling that it appears to have arrived in the form of 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic, who was signed two years ago from Celta Vigo for £200,000. The demands on the teenager, as a result, could become unfair as he continues to learn his trade at the elite level but this was another encouraging performance from him here at least.
Wherever you stand on the need for reinforcements at Liverpool this month, the difference between the two clubs' models of operation is night and day. While Fenway Sports Group are prudent and sensible to a point of being overly frugal, Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital consortium have embarked on a three-wheeled trolley dash with wild abandon, committing around £400m in one-and-a-half windows already.
How Klopp must yearn for even a portion of that kind of backing, even if the Londoners' excesses have so far done little to even out a lopsided collection of players that have been accumulated by a handful of different managers. Potter is the the seventh that the Liverpool manager has faced against Chelsea, for those keeping score.
Despite making eight changes for Tuesday's FA Cup win over Wolves, Klopp did not reintroduce many of his big names for this one and instead provided something of a message to his underperforming stars.
As the likes of Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold - who, admittedly, was carrying a minor muscle injury - kicked their heels on the substitutes' bench, it was clear that their omission represented a kick up the backside of sorts.
It was a game-plan that never really threatened to unlock Chelsea though. Harvey Elliott looked unsure out on the left of the attack and the Reds were unable to build any sustained pressure on the visitors' defence in the absence of Alexander-Arnold's ingenuity and invention. Gakpo once more toiled to little avail up top and four appearances into his Liverpool career, supporters are still awaiting the grand unveiling of his best qualities.
The standard of the first period was in-keeping with the plunging temperatures on Merseyside and there were few genuine chances for either side. Gakpo fired over the bar twice after Chelsea had an early goal ruled out for offside.
The second half saw Liverpool start fairly strongly but they were unable to truly rattle their hosts. Naby Keita's well-struck volley was blocked on its way to goal but Kepa Arrizabalaga was never too troubled.
Nunez was sent on for Keita after the hour mark as Alexander-Arnold replaced James Milner, who was walking a tightrope after being deservedly booked for a professional foul on the dangerous Mudryk.
Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Henderson then brought up the Reds' allocated number of changes but they made little difference against a Chelsea side who had settled for what they had in the hope of sneaking a winner on the counter-attack.
Perhaps these two clubs are blindingly contrasting case studies in what happens when transfer strategies are not executed properly? While Chelsea are no nearer to their long-term aims under Boehly's ownership, despite the outlay, Liverpool's drift out of sight has been exacerbated by underinvestment in the centre in the pitch, even if that is not the whole story of a complicated situation at Anfield.
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