PLAYER RATINGS: Thiago Silva a class above in Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea

Liverpool and Chelsea were unable to make big strides to close the gap to the top four as the struggling teams pulled off a goalless draw at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues saw a Kai Havertz goal ruled out by VAR for offside as Graham Potter was trying to assemble his expensive squad, with £88m new boy Mykhailo Mudryk impressing from the bench.

For Liverpool, it was another frustrating day in the office, with Cody Gakpo unable to get it right while Mohamed Salah held out from his imperious prime.

Here, Sportsmail’s Dominic King rates and ranks the 22 players and substitutes from the Anfield draw.

Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield on Saturday afternoon

LIVERPOOL

allison becker – Impeccable handling and in control of everything that came in his direction – 7

james milner – Sturdy, but found it harder when Mudryk was introduced – 6

Ibrahima Konate – A couple of big challenges at the end of the second half in difficult moments – 7

Joe Gomez put in a no-nonsense performance that will be a confidence boost for him.

jose gomez – The sensible action will have made your confidence the power of good – 7

naby keita – He did not follow up on his excellent performance at Wolves and was substituted – 5.5

Stefan Bajcetic – The first start of the Premier League had no terror, his pass was excellent – 7.5

Naby Keita was excellent at Wolves but missed his chance at Anfield

Young Stefan Bajcetic made his first Premier League start and showed no signs of stage fright

Thiago Alcantara – Good shimmies and game changes, but not enough in key areas – 6.5

Mohamed Salah – He is not playing with the enthusiasm you would expect and there are no real chances of scoring – 6

Cody Gakpo – It will take time to go to bed at Liverpool; erratic shot – 6

Núñez (by Keita 63 min) 6.5, Henderson (by Elliott 82 min), Jones (by Bajectic 82 min), Jones (by Gakpo 82 min)

jurgen klopp – He smiled at the end and the clean sheet will have pleased him more than anything – 6

CHELSEA

Kepa Arrizabalaga – Never really tested but comfortable with everything Liverpool tried him on – 7

Trevoh Chalobah – What an education it is for him to be learning his trade with Silva; replaced due to injury 6.5

Thiago Silva – The best player on the pitch without debate. He headed, tackled, jockeyed, all with absolute class: 8.5

Thiago Silva was imperious at the back for Chelsea and directed their defense superbly

benoit badashile – His only mistake was not making a firm connection when given the chance to score – 7

Marc Cucurella – He fought to the end, literally, finishing the game in a barge match with Curtis Jones – 6.5

lewis room – Chelsea fans chanted his name and it’s no wonder this was a successful display – 7.5

George – Clean and tidy, as expected, it will never do something spectacular – 6.5

Hakim Ziech – A lot of danger, whipping in some great centers and direct with their runs – 7

Chelsea fans chanted Lewis Hall’s name and not surprisingly, he played superbly in midfield.

Graham Potter went through every emotion and will be relieved to have stopped the rot.

mason assembly – Buzz, he did the job that his coach wanted, but without clear scoring chances – 6.5

Kai Havertz – Caught offside by a fraction, otherwise he would have played a hand in the Chelsea score. He exit late – 6

Mudryk (for Hall 55 min) 7, Azpilicueta (for Chalobah 81 min) 6, Aubameyang (for Havertz 81 min) 6, Chukwuemeka (for Mount 82 min) 6.

graham potter – Went through all the emotions but relieved to get a point to stop the rot – 6

michael oliver – Everything you would expect from the best officer in the country, he never made a wrong call – 7