Chelsea failed to turn up the heat on Premier League title rivals Manchester United and Arsenal as they stumbled to a goalless draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues had been boosted by Manchester United's defeat at the hands of Manchester City earlier in the day and although the draw enabled them to increase their unbeaten home league sequence to 76 games, the Londoners may yet come to rue their inability to put Liverpool's season to the sword.
A disappointing game, littered with sloppy passing and dominated at either end by uncompromising defences, provided for a forgettable stalemate.
Avram Grant's side had been lifted by the return of midfielder Frank Lampard but his contribution was to end in the second half with the England international clearly not fully match-fit.
Chelsea's early fire soon burnt itself out and it was Liverpool who began to dominate proceedings.
Yet their final ball into the danger area left a lot to be desired with England's Steven Gerrard the main culprit.
But a cross from Steve Finnan in the 14th minute did allow the giant frame of Peter Crouch to head wide of the target from six yards.
It was the gangly Crouch who should have put the visitors in front in the 17th minute when he combined cleverly with Ryan Babel before driving a low left-foot drive wide of Petr Cech's upright.
Two minutes later a run down the right flank by the energetic Gerrard saw his cross find Crouch unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box. But the England striker could not direct his free header wide of Cech.
Chelsea thought they should have been awarded a penalty in the 26th minute when Joe Cole was up-ended in the area but referee Mike Riley waved away their appeals.
A cross from Liverpool's Gerrard in the 33rd minute was only half-cleared by Ricardo Carvalho and Chelsea were lucky to see a follow-up shot from Lucas deflected to safety.
The visitors were now enjoying a greater share of possession but were finding it difficult to engineer a clear-cut scoring opportunity.
Crouch was a continual threat in the air and he should have at least hit the target when he got on the end of a cross from Dirk Kuyt in the 37th minute.
The move was again sparked by a pass from Gerrard who was now beginning to stamp his authority on the midfield.
Chelsea were still a threat on the break though and Nicolas Anelka won a corner when a speculative 20-yard effort was deflected wide by John Arne Riise.
Five minutes before the interval Babel became the second player to enter Riley's notebook when he committed the same handball offence that had brought Juliano Belletti his yellow card earlier in the half.
A free-kick from Belletti seconds before the interval almost brought Chelsea the reward of a goal but Riise managed to head the behind for a corner.
Chelsea were much better after the restart and Claude Makelele, not known for his goalscoring prowess, was predictably well off-target with a long-range effort in the 50th minute.
His passing is far superior and moments later the Frenchman sent fellow countryman Anelka clear on the Chelsea left. But the former Anfield favourite's low cross eluded everyone in the penalty area.
Chelsea were finding it difficult to break down a Liverpool defence that steadfastly refused to buckle and it required more than the energetic enthusiasm of the lone Anelka to unlock the Reds.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was concerned that momentum of the game was swinging into Chelsea's favour and his frustration was compounded by a booking for Riise who wrestled Lampard to the ground in the 62nd minute.
It was clear Anelka required some help if Chelsea were to break the deadlock and Grant, in keeping with his penchant for attacking football, opted to introduce Florent Malouda into the fray in place of Shaun Wright-Phillips two minutes later.
A mistake by Gerrard, who was caught in possession by Makelele, almost allowed Cole to punish the Reds but his cross was headed away for a corner by Finnan.
Moments later it was the visitors who caused problems for the home side but a quick break ended with Crouch's inability to finish off a cross from Babel.
Michael Ballack almost snatched a late winner 10 minutes from the end but his volley fell just inches wide of Jose Reina's left-hand upright.
Chelsea will welcome back Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou in time for their next outing against Huddersfield in the FA Cup and given the lack of a cutting edge against Liverpool, the end of the African Nations Cup could not have come a moment sooner.
The Blues had been boosted by Manchester United's defeat at the hands of Manchester City earlier in the day and although the draw enabled them to increase their unbeaten home league sequence to 76 games, the Londoners may yet come to rue their inability to put Liverpool's season to the sword.
A disappointing game, littered with sloppy passing and dominated at either end by uncompromising defences, provided for a forgettable stalemate.
Avram Grant's side had been lifted by the return of midfielder Frank Lampard but his contribution was to end in the second half with the England international clearly not fully match-fit.
Chelsea's early fire soon burnt itself out and it was Liverpool who began to dominate proceedings.
Yet their final ball into the danger area left a lot to be desired with England's Steven Gerrard the main culprit.
But a cross from Steve Finnan in the 14th minute did allow the giant frame of Peter Crouch to head wide of the target from six yards.
It was the gangly Crouch who should have put the visitors in front in the 17th minute when he combined cleverly with Ryan Babel before driving a low left-foot drive wide of Petr Cech's upright.
Two minutes later a run down the right flank by the energetic Gerrard saw his cross find Crouch unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box. But the England striker could not direct his free header wide of Cech.
Chelsea thought they should have been awarded a penalty in the 26th minute when Joe Cole was up-ended in the area but referee Mike Riley waved away their appeals.
A cross from Liverpool's Gerrard in the 33rd minute was only half-cleared by Ricardo Carvalho and Chelsea were lucky to see a follow-up shot from Lucas deflected to safety.
The visitors were now enjoying a greater share of possession but were finding it difficult to engineer a clear-cut scoring opportunity.
Crouch was a continual threat in the air and he should have at least hit the target when he got on the end of a cross from Dirk Kuyt in the 37th minute.
The move was again sparked by a pass from Gerrard who was now beginning to stamp his authority on the midfield.
Chelsea were still a threat on the break though and Nicolas Anelka won a corner when a speculative 20-yard effort was deflected wide by John Arne Riise.
Five minutes before the interval Babel became the second player to enter Riley's notebook when he committed the same handball offence that had brought Juliano Belletti his yellow card earlier in the half.
A free-kick from Belletti seconds before the interval almost brought Chelsea the reward of a goal but Riise managed to head the behind for a corner.
Chelsea were much better after the restart and Claude Makelele, not known for his goalscoring prowess, was predictably well off-target with a long-range effort in the 50th minute.
His passing is far superior and moments later the Frenchman sent fellow countryman Anelka clear on the Chelsea left. But the former Anfield favourite's low cross eluded everyone in the penalty area.
Chelsea were finding it difficult to break down a Liverpool defence that steadfastly refused to buckle and it required more than the energetic enthusiasm of the lone Anelka to unlock the Reds.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was concerned that momentum of the game was swinging into Chelsea's favour and his frustration was compounded by a booking for Riise who wrestled Lampard to the ground in the 62nd minute.
It was clear Anelka required some help if Chelsea were to break the deadlock and Grant, in keeping with his penchant for attacking football, opted to introduce Florent Malouda into the fray in place of Shaun Wright-Phillips two minutes later.
A mistake by Gerrard, who was caught in possession by Makelele, almost allowed Cole to punish the Reds but his cross was headed away for a corner by Finnan.
Moments later it was the visitors who caused problems for the home side but a quick break ended with Crouch's inability to finish off a cross from Babel.
Michael Ballack almost snatched a late winner 10 minutes from the end but his volley fell just inches wide of Jose Reina's left-hand upright.
Chelsea will welcome back Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou in time for their next outing against Huddersfield in the FA Cup and given the lack of a cutting edge against Liverpool, the end of the African Nations Cup could not have come a moment sooner.
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