Having endured his most torrid Anfield night on Tuesday evening, Jurgen Klopp, given the choice, would surely have handpicked Selhurst Park for his next destination with Liverpool.
With seven successive victories in south London - including his biggest-ever away win as Reds boss in December 2020 - it's a venue that has so often been kind to the German.
But in this misshapen campaign, it seems not even away wins at Crystal Palace are sacred anymore. Liverpool were handed the ideal chance to turn up the heat on Newcastle and Tottenham above them here and they fluffed their lines. The post-match highlights packages will be short, let's put it that way.
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A third successive Premier League clean sheet will be scant consolation for Klopp, whose side move up to seventh but remain six away from that coveted, season-defining fourth spot. The game in hand is at least providing some comfort but few would bank on the Reds beating an out-of-sorts Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to eat into that deficit. Certainly not on this evidence.
Klopp indicated in his Friday press conference that he is fully aware of the scale of the task that awaits him this summer as he looks to take on a rebuild that is sorely needed.
He even hinted that the riches afforded to the club from qualifying for the Champions League must not be the deciding factor for whether or not he is allowed to commence the Great Liverpool Restoration project, saying on Friday: "Money always has an impact. But this cannot be that much of an impact, let me say it like this. Of course it is influential but this is a summer where we have to be in the market, definitely."
To many seasoned observers, it felt like a gentle nudge towards owners Fenway Sports Group and the prudent and often cautious nature of how the club's finances are run on their watch, particularly when it comes to the transfer market.
The need for a long-term Liverpool redevelopment is simply too great to be left at the mercy of whether or not a top-four finish is confirmed this season but the players here now need to show there is still a stomach for the fight before then. Too many here played like they wanted it to come before February was out.
The search for external investment from FSG may be ongoing, as principal owner John W Henry admitted himself at the top of the week, but Klopp must surely receive assurances that he will be given what is needed to help him return Liverpool to greatness once more, regardless of where they land in the shuffle this term.
Until then, however, the manager and his players must uphold their end of the bargain as they look to emerge from a difficult and often harrowing campaign with at least something to show for their efforts. That, though, looked beyond Liverpool's capabilities here as their brittle confidence was once more on display for all to see in a game devoid of real incident.
Darwin Nunez missed out entirely due to the effects of the shoulder injury he picked up at Newcastle last week as Diogo Jota started his first game since the 1-0 win over Manchester City in mid-October. The Portugal international was one of four changes alongside Joel Matip, Naby Keita and James Milner. The electric Nunez was a major miss in the capital.
The first period was most notable for the variety of inventive ways Liverpool created to give chances to their hosts. First, a mix-up between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Matip handed Jean-Philippe Mateta a chance that was saved by Alisson before the Palace striker then struck the bar after the right-back had been dispossessed inside his own area. Matip was also culpable once more when his poor attempt at a clearance forced Alisson to rush from his goal to snuff out the danger.
Such was Liverpool's fragile mentality at the back that it appeared to be a Palace tactic to play on it simply by closing down and awaiting the mistakes. It was a game-plan that almost worked in fairness to Patrick Vieira.
Liverpool's best chance of the first half arrived for Jota, whose header from a tight angle could only find the outside of the post. It would have been some finish for a player whose toil and endeavour never wavered even if his quality and fitness levels understandably did as the game developed.
Keita, who was withdrawn for Harvey Elliott before the second period, endured an evening to forget on his return to the team. If the Guinea international has any designs on remaining on Merseyside beyond this summer he is not showing it in his performances.
The listless No.8 wanted too long on the ball every time and was outmuscled at every turn by the Palace midfield before he was booked for a sluggish, half-hearted attempt to tackle Michael Olise. The £52m midfielder will always have those who champion his cause, but Keita's Liverpool career is sadly fading fast.
Mohamed Salah was so close to registering his 20th of the campaign for a six straight season when he struck the bar after Jota's swiped effort hit a defender and reached the Egyptian.
Klopp sent on Fabinho and Roberto Firmino for the tiring Jota and subpar Alexander-Arnold as Liverpool chased a winner in the final 20 minutes, with Milner going into the right-back slot.
Gakpo wanted a penalty when his attempted flick over the floored Vicente Guaita ended up going out of play for a goal kick, but it was in hope rather than expectation and as the game closed, it looked like Palace would grab the winner.
In the end, both teams were forced to settle for a share of spoils in a game that never threatened to rise above the levels of ordinary and average. That is simply where Liverpool are at this season, as painful as it might be to hear.
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