It was a tale of two captains at Stamford Bridge as John Terry and Steven Gerrard both scored to see the points shared between Chelsea and Liverpool.
Terry has been sensational at the heart of the Blues defence this season and took his tally to eight for the campaign as he broke the deadlock early on.
Gerrard claimed a point for his beloved Reds with a header at the other end to score on what looks likely to be his last appearance against Chelsea before moving to LA Galaxy this summer.
Tall Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek was handed his full Premier League debut in the centre of the park in place of the injured Oscar.
Loic Remy returned to the side having proven his fitness with veteran Didier Drogba dropping back to the bench for the visit of Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Liverpool kept with tradition and afforded the newly-crowned champions a guard of honour before kick-off at the Bridge.
Chelsea had been given a few extra days off this week but they wasted no time in getting stuck into their opponents as Cesc Fabregas was shown a yellow card with the game just seconds old.
It took the table-toppers under five minutes to make their mark as Terry powered home the 39th Premier League goal of his career to confirm his status as the competition’s deadliest defender.
Terry’s side looked to be heading in with their noses in front until Branislav Ivanovic gave away a needless free-kick and Gerrard headed in the resulting set-piece on the stroke of half time.
That momentum was carried through the interval and Liverpool came close to taking the lead just after the restart when Coutinho fired into the side netting after good work from Raheem Sterling.
Mourinho recognised that the Anfield club were starting to control the play and ended Loftus-Cheek’s debut on the hour and threw on Nemanja Matic for added security.
The change had the desired effect for the Special One as the west Londoners tightened things up in midfield to claim a point and virtually kill off Liverpool’s Champions League hopes.
There is now just a couple of games left for the champions as they prepare for a trip to West Brom and then get ready for their coronation at home to Sunderland on the final day.
Blues: Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma (Cahill, 35), Luis, Loftus-Cheek (Matic, 60), Mikel, Willian, Fabregas, Hazard, Remy (Cuadrado, 82).
Subs (not used): Beeney, Ake, Drogba, Azpilicueta.
