A disappointing goalless first leg at Stamford Bridge was of no real use to either club and likely finalists AC Milan will not have seen anything to worry them.
The loss of wingman Damien Duff hours before kick-off meant a reshuffle of Jose Mourinho's pack. With Arjen Robben still not fully recovered from his injury, Chelsea went into this crucial tie without any natural wide players.
This fell conveniently into the hands of Liverpool, who could scarcely believe their luck.
It soon became a game of could Chelsea break down a resolute Liverpool rearguard and could the Reds score on the break?
The answer to both was no, setting up an intriguing second leg in a week's time.
But Chelsea did have a couple of clear-cut chances.
The first fell to the impish Joe Cole, who tried to stamp his mercurial talent on the game. He succeeded for the best part of the first half-hour before fading.
But after just seven minutes a right wing run and cut in, followed by a low left-foot shot, forced a smart save from goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.
The fact that was the only effort on target by the Blues will be a source of worry for Mourinho.
The best chance of the encounter fell to the normally reliable Frank Lampard after 22 minutes.
William Gallas found a free run down the left before sending in a perfect ball to Cole, wide of the far post. Cole's header fell to the path of the in-running Lampard but he screwed his right-foot volley high over Dudek's crossbar.
It could prove to be a costly miss.
Petr Cech had to produce an excellent save from a John Arne Riise shot a few minutes before interval, but that was it for the first half.
There was a lot of huff and puff by both sides after the break, but Liverpool, who controlled the pace of the game, finished the match in better condition and were worthy of the draw.