These are the moments when Chelsea must be emboldened enough to think that unless something dramatic happens the Premier League title is on its way back to Stamford Bridge. They will be full of regret, naturally, after Diego Costa’s failure to convert the penalty that would have meant Liverpool losing four successive games at Anfield for the first time since 1923. Yet this still registers as a satisfying night’s work for Antonio Conte’s men in a new position of strength at the top of the table.

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It certainly felt incongruous to see Jürgen Klopp beating his chest and throwing his hands to the sky as the Liverpool manager made his way to the tunnel after the final whistle. Yes, it had been a spirited effort from his players, but at this stage of the season should a team in Liverpool position really be so enamoured about failing to make any ground on the leaders?

The harsh reality is that Liverpool have won one of their past nine matches in all competitions and in the past 11 days they have gone out of two cup competitions and, almost certainly, forfeited any lingering chance of winning their first championship since 1990. Chelsea have preserved a 10-point advantage over the team in fourth and, taking into account the results elsewhere for Tottenham and Arsenal, they might eventually look back at this draw as being a significant result.

That, however, does not mean they will be free of frustration after a night that encapsulated the good and bad of Simon Mignolet, Liverpool’s puzzling goalkeeper. Mignolet was badly exposed when David Luiz opened the scoring with a quickly taken free-kick in the 24th minute and it was startling to see someone purporting to be an elite goalkeeper being caught out in such a way. His save from Costa’s penalty provided a counter‑argument although the point remains that a team with Liverpool’s ambitions could benefit from having a goalkeeper who does not mix outstanding reflexes with damaging lapses.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Luiz puts Chelsea into the lead with a long-distance free kick. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Liverpool played at times like they knew they had a season to save. They had the better of the first 20 minutes and dominated long spells of the second half, equalising via Georgino Wijnaldum’s header, until the game threatened to head away from them in the last quarter of an hour. Another team’s confidence might have been damaged by their recent slump but there was no evidence of that here – and that, perhaps, was the most impressive aspect of Liverpool’s performance.

It earned them some sympathetic applause at the final whistle, but there was palpable frustration, too, and Klopp went too far when he turned on the fourth official, Neil Swarbrick, after the penalty. Klopp did apologise, but it was still unpleasant to see him screaming into Swarbrick’s face. He said that his words were “nobody can beat us” – a strange observation bearing in mind how distressing January has been for his club.

Klopp, as always, was immensely wound up and earlier in the match, as he informed the supporters behind his dugout that he wanted more noise, it was noticeable that his request did not go down well with all the fans in that stand. Chelsea had scored a couple of minutes earlier and Mignolet was not even looking at the ball when David Luiz, showing great speed of thought, took a few steps forward and aimed a 25-yard shot over what barely passed as a defensive wall. Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino were all lined up and Philippe Coutinho was making his way over.

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Liverpool, in other words, did not have a single defender in their wall, which might help to explain why the four players in question looked like they were idly waiting at a bus stop. Mignolet had wandered from one side of his goal to the other and David Luiz impudently aimed the ball in precisely the spot the Belgian had deserted.

Liverpool, to give them their due, shook their heads clear for the second half and the equaliser arrived in the 57th minute when James Milner headed Henderson’s right-sided delivery back across the six-yard area. The ball came to Wijnaldum via a slight deflection off Victor Moses and the Liverpool player aimed a downward header beyond Thibaut Courtois.

Klopp brought on Sadio Mané, back from the Africa Cup of Nations, in the hope he might conjure up a winner and Klopp could reflect on the two chances Firmino squandered in the first half.

Yet it was Chelsea who finished as the stronger side and Costa had the opportunity to win the match after the referee, Mark Clattenburg, decided that Joël Matip had flicked out a leg to halt the striker’s surging run. Costa struck the penalty with power but Mignolet dived to his right to turn the ball away and Liverpool were spared.