If all draws are equal, this one seemed more equal for Chelsea. Away from home, and constantly under pressure from a fired-up Liverpool, Jose Mourinho's side were clearly delighted with the point and even brought on Robert Huth for Didier Drogba, centre-half for centre-forward late on as they shut up shop.
Inevitably in a spat between the champions of Europe and the champions of England, few niceties were observed when loose balls were contested. Frank Lampard, John Terry, Claude Makelele and Xabi Alonso were all cautioned for nasty lunges. But the real offences, the penalty-box fouls on Sami Hyypia, Luis Garcia and then a hand-ball by William Gallas, went unpunished.
Liverpool, who stay top of the group, take can take great pride from their performance, and their fans saluted Steven Gerrard and company at the final whistle, while deriding De Santis.
South versus North, cash versus cachet, this absorbing collision of contrasting cultures unfolded into a fascinating tactical duel embodied in the battle between Makelele's defiance and Gerrard's adrenalin-fuelled ambition.
As Liverpool kept a high line and a high tempo, as Gerrard kept running at Makelele, the hosts' enterprise made a mockery of Mourinho's belief that Benitez's side would sit deep and play on the counter. "They don't play with an open heart," insisted Mourinho as he walked into Anfield last night. "They wait for the opponents' mistake."
Cautious? Liverpool? No chance here. Not with the Kop in full voice. Not with Gerrard so determined to pile into last night's visitors "because of the speculation about me and Chelsea for two years". With the outstanding Alonso and Didi Hamann the mobile holding men, Liverpool were set up tactically and temperamentally to flow forward. Gerrard played the advance clearing house behind the willowy and willing Peter Crouch while Garcia and Djibril Cisse attempted to insinuate themselves behind Chelsea's fleet full-backs.
It was Mourinho's team who were prepared to wait and wait for a mistake, and they always exuded the menace of a breakaway goal. Following an Alonso foul, Lampard drilled in a free kick that Pepe Reina pushed away.
Then Liverpool seized control, moving the ball around a pitch made perfect for passing football by a late-afternoon monsoon by the Mersey. Liverpool's commitment to attack saw Djimi Traore forsaking his left-back station after 16 minutes, gliding upfield and squeezing a good pass through to Gerrard. Liverpool's captain controlled the ball well but then, leaning back, lifted the ball badly over Petr Cech's bar.
The force continued to be with the European champions, whose fans kept waving cardboard-and-foil models of the famous trophy at Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's smiling benefactor. Every art class in every Huyton and Croxteth school yesterday must have been taken over by boys making copies of the European Cup. Liverpool banner-makers had been typically busy as well, with one sign detailing the five European Cups won by Liverpool with the words "You Can Only Envy Us".
But for the poor positioning of the referee, Liverpool should have had a penalty after 18 minutes when Drogba felled Hyypia from behind. Crouch screamed his disbelief at De Santis as the official ignored the offence.
Nip and tuck, pace and parrying, neither side could find a way through. Chelsea have been constructed into a formidable machine by Mourinho, with the smoothest of midfield engines pumping through the industrious limbs and minds of Lampard, Makelele and Michael Essien.
With Drogba struggling to win the physical battle against the stout-hearted Jamie Carragher, Chelsea lacked a high-class outlet, though Arjen Robben made inroads down the flanks. Racing on to one Lampard pass, Robben cut inside Hyypia and let fly venomously. Reina, reacting brilliantly, flicked the ball over into a relieved Kop.
Liverpool's frustration with De Santis intensified after the break. Attacking the Kop, where legend had it they were so often awarded spot-kicks, they twice had appeals rejected by the Italian. First Paulo Ferreira appeared to pull back Garcia as he raced in on Cech. Then William Gallas clearly handled Carragher's header following a clever corner routine.
With 17 minutes remaining, a mix-up between Carragher and Hyypia sent the ball skidding free across the Liverpool area. As Damien Duff darted in to exploit the mistake, Reina responded well, dashing out to flick the ball away. The moment encapsulated the night. Promise but no finish.