Analysis: Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea – BBC Sport

Phil McNulty, BBC Sport

Liverpool’s display in the goalless draw with Chelsea once again highlighted the loss of the intensity that made them so feared for so long.

The snap and spark has gone out of their game and how it showed in a truly dreadful game at a freezing Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp had little to celebrate in his 1,000th game as a manager other than a clean sheet and the fact Liverpool avoided defeat.

There are unquestionably mitigating circumstances for Liverpool’s current malaise, with defensive lynchpin Virgil van Dijk out injured, along with the key attacking trio of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino.

This would be a loss to any team but apart from a lively spell at the start of the second half, Liverpool were a pale shadow of the team that chased four trophies, two of them successfully in the League Cup and the FA Cup, last season.

Liverpool must make up this deficit in form and intensity quickly with a Champions League last 16 game against holders Real Madrid on the horizon amid a drift away from the top four places in the Premier League.