Each side will rue the circumstances that cost them victory and significant progress at either end of the Premiership table.
But for Liverpool there was the added distress of losing Djibril Cisse, late in the first half, with a badly broken leg.
The incident was a dark echo of the equivalent match last season, when Milan Baros sustained a fractured ankle in an innocuous collision and Jamie Carragher's leg was broken in a less innocent challenge.
Cisse suffered his horrific injury as he was confronted by the Blackburn defender, Jay McEveley. The French striker appeared to catch his foot in the turf and went down in obvious pain. Brad Friedel, Blackburn's former Liverpool goalkeeper, immediately indicated the severity of the injury and Cisse was eventually carried off on a stretcher.
Liverpool's evening had begun positively, John Arne Riise giving them an early lead. But a first goal for Blackburn by Jay Bothroyd and another by Brett Emerton tilted the balance, before Baros salvaged a point for Liverpool.
The draw was enough to lift Blackburn off the bottom and will have rebuilt a little self-belief in their struggle for survival.
Blackburn's anxiety was palpable early on, despite the foraging of Paul Dickov. Liverpool, oozing confidence, opened Blackburn's defence with ominous ease.
Friedel had to react smartly to block Baros's path to goal but was left powerless and frustrated in the seventh minute. Xabi Alonso's diagonal pass invited Riise's run around the back of Blackburn's right flank. Riise, who scored an excellent opening goal for Liverpool against Charlton the previous week, drilled the ball across Friedel and into the far corner.
Blackburn seemed in danger of collapse and yet, out of nothing, constructed an exquisite move to draw level. Dickov pushed the ball inside the full back and into the path of Emerton, who squared for Bothroyd to apply the finish.
Baros was on target with a 20-yard drive and Friedel settled for beating the ball away. Luis Garcia replaced Cisse but Liverpool's play became markedly subdued and deep into stoppage time at the end of the half they went behind.
Sami Hyypia must have thought he had done his job when he muscled Barry Ferguson off the ball, but in attempting to complete his clearance he merely found Emerton, who instantly stroked the ball into the far corner.
Liverpool then equalised with the help of McEveley. The defender carelessly gave the ball away from a free kick and Baros had the pace and strength to sprint through and beat Friedel.
Late on, Chris Kirkland had to respond splendidly to keep out a close-range shot from Dickov. Friedel, too, still had work to do, and in the frantic closing moments Riise and Garcia almost plundered a win for Liverpool.