Liverpool's wait for Uefa Champions League qualification continued as Enzo Fernandez’s free kick secured Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday.
The draw ended Chelsea's six-game losing run in the Premier League and handed caretaker manager Calum MacFarlane a first point in charge.
Liverpool remained fourth in the table with 59 points from 36 games, while Chelsea are in ninth with 49 points from the same number of matches.
The match encapsulated the Reds' season when they went ahead then retreated into their shell, allowing a diffident team like Chelsea with a caretaker manager to grow into the game.
Liverpool took the lead with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box by Ryan Gravenberch, but Chelsea improved on their recent insipid performances and equalised when Fernandez’s set-piece eluded everyone and nestled in the bottom corner.
Both teams had second-half goals disallowed by VAR for offside and Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil Van Dijk hit the frame of the goal as Liverpool finally woke from their slumber.
However, the draw still leaves them needing a win to guarantee a return to the Champions League, although superior goal difference means two points may be enough even if sixth-placed Bournemouth win all their remaining games.
There were boos in the air at full time from the Anfield faithful, as well as midway through the second half when manager Arne Slot took off lively 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, replacing him with Alexander Isak.
The Liverpool manager said he understood the frustration of fans.
"We started off really well and got a big chance from a set-piece which was close to making it 2-0," Slot told TNT Sports.
"Unfortunately, like last week, we conceded a set piece. It was such a sloppy goal. The second half I saw a completely different intensity. We went close a few times. Like so many times this season, we hit the post and bar."
On fans booing in the match, Slot said: "That's probably got something to do with us not winning. It completely makes sense people are disappointed if Liverpool don't win."
For Chelsea, the glass was half full.
"I think the effort today was really good," Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella told TNT Sports. "I don't think it was probably our best moments, but we showed if we play together and if we play together then we have a good level.
"Hopefully we can win a bit of confidence from this game because next week we have a massive game [against Manchester City in the FA Cup final]."
