Riyad Mahrez missed a late penalty as Liverpool and Manchester City fought out a goalless stalemate at Anfield.
The fact this encounter ended goalless was no surprise, although, the manner of the game that included very limited chances was a real shock.
The Algerian international stepped up to take the spot-kick following a sloppy foul on substitute Leroy Sane by Virgil van Dijk with minutes to play.
Van Dijk came sliding in on Sane who looked to shape his shot following a through ball from David Silva, the Dutch captain's recklessness left Martin Atkinson no choice but to point to the spot.
Mahrez bravely nominated himself to step up (taking the ball from Gabriel Jesus) in place of Sergio Aguero who had been subbed minutes before, and the former Leicester City man blazed his effort over as both English heavyweights go into the international break unbeaten.
The Citizens will be leaving Merseyside with a hint of what might have been considering they were a penalty away from their first Anfield win since 2003.
Both teams stand firm in cautious first-half
What was remarkable for the first 45 minutes was that there were no goals. A fixture that has dominated high intensity, all-attack football lacked that something special today.
Mohamed Salah screwed a low shot wide early on following some smart build-up play that looked to get the home fans roaring.
The opening period did, however, begin fast. It was full throttle with the hosts looking to shellshock the visitors before Jürgen Klopp's side's high paced manner was subdued by Pep Guardiola's class to control the game with possession.
Joe Gomez produced another masterclass in defence slotting into his familiar right-back role replacing Trent Alexander Arnold. However, the Englishman's shanked clearance nearly left his Reds side exposed when Aguero looked to pounce.
The Citizens may have felt hard done by when they were denied a penalty before the 30-minute mark when Dejan Lovren - making his first start of the season - recklessly snapped at Aguero bringing the Argentine down before the striker rose back to his feet confusing the referee to whether he was deemed fouled or not.
Former Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling was consistently booed at his former home, and the former Merseysider struggled to find any fluency - as did the majority of players today - before being removed on the hour mark.
Klopp's attempts to ignite a ferocious, energetic start from his hosts allowed City to play the ball out from deep. John Stones and Aymeric Laporte expertly calmed the oncoming Liverpool storm with a number of diagonal passes to let loose Sterling and Mahrez.
James Milner was removed from the affair early on with Naby Keita recovering from his setback in Naples to replace the Premier League veteran.
Mahrez fails to end Anfield hoodoo
Liverpool looked to redouble their efforts as they took the same intensity to City early on in the second half. Another penalty shout for the visitors came screaming - for an alleged handball - of their own but once again it was waved away.
However, this Liverpool pressure signalled a shift in momentum with Mahrez growing into the encounter with a low cross-shot forcing a save from Alisson Becker. At the other end, Salah curled a shot that was easily collected by fellow Brazilian Ederson.
Aguero was withdrawn meaning his tenth appearance at Anfield ended in another goal drought with the Argentine still yet to score at the famous ground.
Another chance fell to Salah as he was teed up by Andrew Robertson's through ball as the Egyptian looked to glide past Laporte before shooting wide.
A draw can be considered a fair result, although as both sides continued to find a winner, the Citizens will undoubtedly being ruing that missed penalty that has still yet to land following such a strike from Mahrez' doomed left-foot.