Jurgen Klopp's 1,000th match in management; the English top flight's 50,000th fixture – Chelsea's trip to Liverpool on Saturday wasn't short of milestones, intrigue or importance.
But there was certainly no surplus of quality at Anfield as two teams who've been feeling sorry for themselves for most of the season failed to produce the spark that could reignite their thoroughly underwhelming campaigns.
Graham Potter's men left with a 0-0 draw that Chelsea might ultimately be relatively happy with, but generally speaking it was a match devoid of brilliance, and by extension an indictment of two teams who should be faring far, far better.
It bears remembering that, in fairness, Liverpool and Chelsea played out draws in seven of their previous 17 Premier League meetings – but such tightness has also led to numerous classics down the years, helping stoke something of a competitive rivalry between the two.
Recent Premier League title winners, recent Champions League titlists – even with their respective injury woes and general struggles, surely this was still going to be a thriller?
There probably wasn't a more inappropriate description of the first half, a dour 45 minutes of football barely punctuated by any hints of ingenuity or quality.
Chelsea could argue they were the brighter of the teams. Kai Havertz had an early goal disallowed; Lewis Hall flashed a left-footed effort across the six-yard box; Benoit Badiashile headed at Alisson from close range.
But it was hardly sustained pressure, and you could make a case for all three incidents being caused more by poor Liverpool defending than attacking brilliance from Chelsea.
Of course, it cannot be overstated how many important players were absent for both teams – it's no fluke they began the weekend ninth and 10th in the league.
But even with the likes of Hall and Stefan Bajcetic starting, it wasn't as if either side resembled a creche. The starting XIs cost over £200million. Each.
Not even Mohamed Salah – a genuine superstar – could bring the desired quality, skying one attempt as he cut inside and onto his left foot. You know the one, the type of chance you'd almost expect him to finish last season... or any past campaign in Liverpool red.
A fairly tame Thiago Alcantara effort was Liverpool's first shot on target in the 39th minute.
There was undoubtedly a sense of Jurgen Klopp "getting into" – as Reds great Steven Gerrard put it during his punditry – Liverpool at half-time, as they began the second half on the front foot.
Within seconds of the restart, Ibrahima Konate surged forward and seemingly panicked with little else on. His toe-poke from about 50 yards almost crept into the top-left corner in an incident that seemed to sum up everything about the game until that point.
But Liverpool's intensity didn't last, their dip seemingly coinciding with the introduction of Mykhaylo Mudryk, who gave Chelsea a notable lift.
His first touch was heavy. Cue ironic cheers from the home fans.
But his next will have had the Kop staring wide-eyed in terror.
Conor Gallagher was tripped in the box and Mudryk pounced, remarkably dancing past three Liverpool defenders before drilling left-footed into the side-netting.
Relief was the expression written all over the Reds' defence – although only for a moment. Soon after he left James Milner for dead, luring the makeshift right-back into a lunge that brought a booking and his subsequent substitution for Trent Alexander-Arnold, deemed not fit enough to start.
Suddenly Chelsea were looking to Mudryk in virtually every attack. Two devilish Hakim Ziyech crosses sought him out at the back post – the first was met with a heavy touch, the second slightly too strong for him to divert goalwards.
The Ukrainian was also neat with his link-up play, delicately releasing Carney Chukwuemeka into the box twice with well-weighted passes, only for the youngster to stumble on the first occasion and then needlessly delay his shot for the second.
Mudryk wasn't enough to inspire a breakthrough, though. In fact, the game probably didn't deserve a goal, and you certainly couldn't say either team were particularly unfortunate not to win.
While Mudryk's cameo will have undoubtedly offered Chelsea some encouragement, the overriding conclusion from such an underwhelming contest was that both extremely expensively assembled teams still look like they could do with another £200m of investment.
Salah hints at Liverpool stay, pays tribute to Klopp
Mohamed Salah has hinted he will still be a Liverpool player next season while paying tribute to departed manager Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp's nine-year reign on Merseyside came to an end with Sunday's 2-0 win over Wolves, with Liverpool ending his final campaign at the helm third in the Premier League.
Arne Slot was subsequently confirmed as his successor on Monday, but doubts have been raised as to whether Salah would play under the Dutchman.
Salah's form dropped off alarmingly in the second half of the campaign and he became involved in a public bust-up with Klopp last month, heightening speculation that he could depart as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.
However, Salah seemed to rule out that prospect as he vowed to lead Liverpool to more silverware next term, after their efforts in 2023-24 only amounted to February's EFL Cup win.
"We know that trophies are what count and we will do everything possible to make that happen next season." Salah wrote in a post on X.
"Our fans deserve it and we will fight like hell."
Alongside an image of himself with Klopp, he wrote in a separate post: "It was great sharing all those trophies and experiences with you over the past seven years.
"I wish you the best of luck for the future and hope we meet again."
Salah scored 18 Premier League goals in 2023-24, making it the least prolific campaign of his seven-year stint at Anfield.
Fourteen of those goals came before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in January, where he sustained a hamstring injury that troubled him throughout the second half of the campaign.
Sunday's victory over Wolves represented Salah's 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool.
His overall tally of 223 Premier League goal involvements for the Reds (155 goals, 68 assists) are the second-most by any player in their first 250 appearances for a club in the competition, with Thierry Henry managing 243 for Arsenal (171 goals, 72 assists).
Sargent earns recall as Pulisic, Balogun and Adams headline USA's preliminary Copa America squad
United States coach Gregg Berhalter has named a 27-man preliminary squad ahead of the Copa America.
Josh Sargent, the Norwich City forward, has earned a recall to the USA squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Colombia, and is set to feature for his country for the first time since 2022.
With first-choice right-back Sergino Dest injured, meanwhile, Berhalter has turned to Nashville SC's Shaq Moore in defence.
Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Matt Turner, Weston McKennie and Brendan Aaronson are among the established names to feature.
Former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun, who opted to represent the USA rather than England, has also made the cut, as has Coventry City's Haji Wright, who has had a strong season in England's second tier.
Berhalter explained Sargent had been called up to give him another option in attack, with Wright seen primarily as a wide option.
"Between their club form and what they've done for the national team in the past, we think it's a talented group of strikers," he said.
Giovanni Reyna, the 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker who has been on loan at Nottingham Forest since January, has also been included, despite a feud between Berhalter and the playmaker's family in the wake of the World Cup.
Antonee Robinson has had another impressive season with Fulham, and has been called up alongside club-mate Tim Ream.
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen was a notable omission, as were MLS stars Jesus Ferreira and Jordan Morris.
"This summer presents an opportunity for us to progress and grow as a team as we continue to build towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup," Berhalter said.
"We have a talented group of players and are excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the world."
Berhalter will cut down his squad after the friendlies, with Copa hosts USA taking on Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia in Group C.
Liverpool offer 'difficult to ignore', says Klopp's replacement Slot
Arne Slot said it was "not an easy decision" to leave Feyenoord, but ultimately he could not turn down the Liverpool job.
Liverpool finally confirmed Slot as Jurgen Klopp's successor on Monday.
Klopp signed off on his nine-year tenure in charge of Liverpool with a 2-0 win over Wolves on Sunday.
The German started an "Arne Slot" chant during his leaving speech at Anfield, and a day later, the Reds officially announced the 45-year-old Dutchman's appointment, subject to a work permit.
Slot led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title during his time in charge, as well as the KNVB Beker, while they also reached the Europa Conference League final in 2022.
Speaking to Feyenoord's official website, Slot said: "It is certainly not an easy decision to close the door behind you at a club where you have experienced so many wonderful moments and worked successfully with so many wonderful people.
"But as a sportsman, an opportunity to become a head coach in the Premier League, at one of the biggest clubs in the world, is difficult to ignore.
"At the same time, we understand very well that working at a club like Liverpool is a special and unique opportunity for him. With that in mind, we started the conversation to see if we could find a solution together, and in the end we succeeded."
Feyenoord beat Excelsior in Feyenoord's final match in charge on Sunday.
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