All seemed lost for Liverpool, who had created half a dozen clear chances and squandered all of them, when the 29-year-old stepped up with a minute of the game to run. The goal that ensued will live long in the mind's eye: a looping shot from 30 yards casually despatched from the left instep which soared above Kepa Arrizabalaga and into the net.
It was only Sturridge's 50th Premier League goal for the club – which only goes to show how long and desperate the struggle for such a moment has been for him.
Five injury-plagued years have passed since he arrived at Anfield from Chelsea, insisting that he'd been so much in his shell that he hadn't even expressed himself properly in interviews. He was so sure of himself back then that his representatives were insisting on a central forward's role being written into his contract.
Jurgen Klopp said that Sturridge was 'in the best shape' he'd seen and was enjoying the affection of a dressing room which was 'pretty loud' as he walked in at the end.
As always, the picture is more complicated than the public pronouncements. He scored against PSG in the Champions League last month yet missed chances too. He hit the bar against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup in midweek yet looked less than committed to the cause.
But it is a measure of how far Liverpool have come in the last few years that Klopp counts Sturridge – an old-style centre who does not exactly fit the new Liverpool - as one of the subsidiary players. Just two years ago, the manager's press conferences seemed to be a weekly Sturridge medical bulletin.
Klopp was tetchy at the end of it all – biting someone's head off for having the temerity to ask if he felt Liverpool 'deserved a draw.' It had been a struggle and a sobering experience at times. They looked the less fluid side for 45 minutes but capitalised as Chelsea fell back.
Eden Hazard was the difference - a player on a different technical level to all of those around him. He started the move which saw him send Chelsea into their lead, flicking the ball with his left inside heel, outpacing Joe Gomez as he advanced half the length of the pitch to receive it back, then cutting back to strike beyond Alisson. The goalkeeper might have done better. It was not a powerful strike.
Chelsea were buoyed by Mohamed Salah's struggle to finish chances, which revealed how capricious football can be. The Egyptian was busy enough, receiving and running through the right channel which was Liverpool's first half line of attack.
But chances came and went. He had time to stand and stare and pick his spot after Sadio Mane's shot span into his path just four minutes into the contest. He finished weakly, with the air of an individual who has put down his belief somewhere but just can't recall where. The next chance went high and wide.
Klopp tried to mask his agony with applause though he was suffering. On the half hour mark he made clear his frustration to the player, who'd just decided to pass instead of shoot at the time.
The Liverpool forwards most likely to wreak damage – Mane and Roberto Firmino - were becalmed, too, with the midfield struggling to get them on the ball. Further back, Virgil van Dijk was the usual immovable object but Chelsea had a pace which could outdo their opponents.
Andy Robertson was back on his heels and caught out when a long ball from Luiz sought Willian, though Alisson was out quickly to close down the danger. Alisson intervened when Hazard’s pace made Liverpool look vulnerable again — sprinting out to block the forward’s shot. On that occasion, a quickly taken free-kick from N’Golo Kante had sent Hazard through. Both goalkeepers demonstrated their value.
Chelsea are by no means insuperable. They have mistakes in them. Willian played a ten-yard pass back into danger in his own area as the hour-mark approached, allowing Mane to cut around Mateo Kovacic and strike a low shot which Kepa palmed away.
There may also come a time when Maurizio Sarri asks where, beyond Hazard, the attacking threat is coming from. Olivier Giroud's contribution was minimal; Alvaro Morata's not much better.
Salah's game was over on 65 minutes and the look on his face as he departed – no eye contact with his manager – told its own story. His replacement, Xherdan Shaqiri, immediately conspired to miss an even easier chance.
One of the fizzing, quick-release crosses that have become a Robertson trademark was his for the taking, but after allowing the ball to run across his body, he sent a right-foot shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
There was more of the same to come – Luiz clearing off the goalline after a Milner cross was headed down firmly by Firmino. And then Milner made way for Sturridge.
There was only a few feet of space to play with as N'Golo Kante made to challenge him when he shaped to shoot but the strike was exceptionally sweet. Just like the sense of salvation he would have been feeling as he stepped from the field.