The goalless draw between Liverpool and Chelsea, their second in 80 league games, was as predictable as it was frustrating as two underachieving teams failed to rise to the occasion.
Such a result between the two would have often been considered satisfactory during the past ten years, but this was a squandered opportunity for both parties and was a terrible showing on Jurgen Klopp's 1,000th game as a manager.
The fact that these were teams in ninth and tenth position attempting to drastically close the gap on the top four and failing to do so demonstrates how awful things are right now for both clubs, who are currently shells of their former selves.
After complimenting the enthusiasm of that performance, Klopp had stuck with eight players from what was basically a second-string lineup that had defeated Wolves in the FA Cup midweek.
Tellingly, he kept the same midfield, giving 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic his first Premier League start and leaving captain Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had just returned to practice on Friday after a minor muscle problem, on the bench.
Although it increased effort, it had little impact on quality, especially up front where Chelsea and Liverpool weren't any better. Graham Potter, the under-appreciated Blues manager, will, however, have felt encouraged by Mykhailo Mudryk's strong second-half cameo and a fourth point from two games.
Among his other disappointments in the first half, Klopp would have been shocked to hear an announcement saying there had been a report of it taking place followed by a warning it was against the law. In his programme notes, Klopp had praised fans for their support in helping to eradicate a homophobic chant associated with Chelsea, so among his other disappointments, he would have been dismayed to hear that.
Cody Gakpo, a recent addition to Liverpool, missed two shots, while an unfocused Mohamed Salah also missed two shots. They could ill afford to act in such a wasteful manner after being given a reprieve by VAR in the third minute when shoddy defending allowed Kai Havertz to score after Thiago Silva's shot rebounded against the post but was overturned on review.
At least that helped to cheer up the crowd at a brutally cold Anfield, but that soon evaporated as Alisson Becker had to make a close-range header stop from Benoit Badiashile.BIbrahima Konate nearly beat Kepa Arrizabalaga with an errant shot only seconds after the break, but any expectation that the situation would improve was misplaced.
Mudryk, who cost £88 million to acquire from Shakhtar Donetsk, made his debut off the bench in less than ten minutes. His first real opportunity saw him miss the ball off the end of the field as he attempted to sprint clear. From his second opportunity, he skillfully sidestepped a few challenges inside the penalty area before firing into the side-netting.
James Milner then took him down, earning him a booking for the challenge, but even when Liverpool's backup right-back was unable to approach the player, the Ukrainian's control allowed a goal to slip through his fingers when he was well-positioned at the far post.
Although Darwin Nunez's introduction of more of a threat and his setting up of Gakpo's fantastic pirouette and shot on the turn introduced more of a threat, Hakim Ziyech's awful finish still failed to adequately test Arrizabalaga.
The final whistle was met with broad apathy across Anfield, and the sight of replacement Carney Chukwuemeka stumbling over himself when well-positioned in Liverpool's penalty area served as a fitting assessment of the game overall.
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