Chelsea and Liverpool played out a tame goalless draw at Stamford Bridge that was a sobering reflection of the current reduced status of the clubs.
Bruno Saltor was in interim charge of Chelsea following Graham Potter’s sacking while Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made six changes following their heavy defeat at Manchester City.
Chelsea had the better of the chances, with Mateo Kovacic seeing his shot cleared off the line by Ibrahima Konate early on before shooting wildly over when clean through after the break.
Kai Havertz, who was also thwarted by Liverpool keeper Alisson, saw a goal ruled out for handball by VAR while Reece James suffered a similar fate in the first half, his effort chalked off for offside.
Klopp left out Mohamed Salah as well as full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, while Virgil van Dijk was ill as Liverpool barely tested Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, the result not helping their pursuit for a place in the Premier League’s top four.