Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he was "really happy" his 1,000th game as a manager did not turn out the same way as Arsene Wenger's.
The former Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund coach brought up the landmark in the Reds' Premier League showdown with Chelsea at Anfield, but there was little to write home about.
In a clash between two mid-table sides, with Liverpool lying ninth before the game - level on points with Chelsea but ahead of the Blues on goal difference - neither team looked like scoring in a drab goalless draw.
The 0-0 stalemate is another blow to Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, although that point was enough to propel the Reds above Brentford into eighth place.
Klopp's side also sit just one point behind Brighton & Hove Albion after the Seagulls drew 2-2 with Leicester City - albeit having played a game more - and the German compared his 1,000th game in charge to Wenger's with a sly dig.
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The former Arsenal manager reached that landmark with the Gunners in March 2014, but it was a self-proclaimed "nightmare" for the Frenchman as Chelsea thumped the North London giants 6-0.
"First and foremost, before the game I got a lot of messages [about my 1,00th game] and not all of them were nice," Klopp told reporters at his post-game press conference. "I think Arsene Wenger lost his 1,000th game 6-0, so I am really happy that didn't happen.
"I liked the start in the first half, I liked particularly the start in the second half, so that was good [but] we have to extend these spells. We have to play more football, especially in the first half when we won balls back, when we defended really well, when we were really aggressive and then we gave the balls away too easily.
"We had other moments where we played pretty well, didn't get it to create a no-brainer or whatever, but it was good. I expect progress and I think from the last league game [at Brighton] it was progress, definitely, and that's important."
Having overseen a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup in midweek, Klopp kept faith with a large majority of the XI from Molineux, as Stefan Bajcetic, James Milner, Naby Keita and Harvey Elliott all made the first XI.
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Bajcetic - one of Liverpool's standout performers at Molineux in midweek - was making his first Premier League start, and Klopp was delighted with the 18-year-old's "exceptional" contribution.
"There are not a lot of good things in the situation we are in, but obviously that opens doors and gaps and situations for young players," Klopp added. "There was a door, I'm not even sure it was open, but he ran through it and he was exceptional.
"He does really well in the moment, I think that's clear. We have to be a bit careful with him of course, he's really young. He had a yellow card and I don't even know [if] it was his fault, to be 100% honest, but he got a yellow card, so of course he got tired, but [he] was still really good in the game.
"Each player when he gets tired and is on a yellow card is a risk, and we didn't want to take that. But, no, he is doing really well."
Liverpool now turn their attention to an FA Cup fourth-round meeting away at Brighton & Hove Albion on January 29 before another trip to Wolves on February 4 in the Premier League.
Ben Knapton
