The transfer talk surrounding Chelsea and Liverpool has been constant during a busy summer - as encapsulated by the ongoing Moises Caicedo saga - but the two clubs could finally begin a PL campaign they each hope will be more successful than the last.
The Reds got off to a far better start, and after rattling the crossbar himself, Mohamed Salah ran at Levi Colwill and played a sensational pass that Luis Diaz slid in to divert past Robert Sanchez shortly after the quarter-hour mark.
Salah was relentless, but the Egyptian’s cool finish soon after proved inconsequential after he had strayed marginally offside.
Chelsea’s backline had endured their struggles early on, although two of its members combined in the opposition box to devastating effect, with debutant Axel Disasi drifting behind to reach Ben Chilwell’s header and poke the ball home in the 38th minute.
Chilwell thought he’d put the hosts ahead within two minutes when he rounded Alisson Becker and touched the ball into the gaping net, although he was also caught agonisingly offside, while Nicolas Jackson couldn’t keep his effort down with the Blues pushing for another before the break.
There was a brilliant flow to the match that made it scintillating for the neutral, but neither team could carve out the goal they craved in the second period, with newly-appointed captain Virgil van Dijk curling an effort that came tantalisingly close to finding the top corner, while Chilwell’s venomous strike was stopped by Alisson.
The Blues looked more likely to go ahead as they took control, although Alisson was once again on hand to halt them after Jackson had made a bursting run behind the Reds defence.
Darwin Nunez made a difference after his introduction and saw his effort flick off Lesley Ugochukwu before sailing agonisingly wide, as Mauricio Pochettino avoided defeat in his first PL match as Chelsea manager, even if the Blues have won just one of their last 15 competitive games.
Meanwhile, Liverpool followed up their 11-game run without a defeat at the end of the last term by taking their unbeaten record in season openers into its 11th campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)