This should have been the evening Joe Cole was granted a rare shot at redemption. He is the Anfield boomerang; no matter how much he is discarded, somehow he always comes back. And although the former England midfielder, who spent best part of last season on loan with Lille, will not be calling himself Liverpool's renaissance man just yet, he finally had something to celebrate when he put Liverpool ahead in the 72nd minute.
It was his first Liverpool goal since April 2011, coming after neat interplay between substitutes Steven Gerrard and Luis Suárez. It should have been the winner.
The fact that Cole was replaced three minutes later and then denied the glory in the closing stages summed up his career on Merseyside. He departed to a standing ovation — he has waited two years for that following a torrid spell — but he must still be thinking it is never meant to be.
Jonjo Shelvey had earlier put Liverpool in charge with a 33rd minute header — Cole was involved in that, too – but Raul Bobadilla's superb volley early in the second half retained Swiss hopes of sneaking through.
The visitors had shown their intent to attack from the first whistle, almost going ahead after just 10 seconds. From kick-off, Raphael Nuzzolo broke down the left and his cross was volleyed over by Gonzalo Zarate. The threat did not recede, and although Liverpool created what Rodgers described as a "hatful of chances", consistently comfortable Anfield victories have been elusive for too long.
Gerrard and Suárez's introduction inevitably gave Liverpool more potency, but with Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing at full-back — they were £38 million pounds of midfielder in another lifetime — lingering vulnerabilities remained.
It was Henderson's misjudgement which allowed Bobadilla to equalise, but there were problems in other areas. Nuri Sahin is technically gifted, but it is hard to work out where he is most effective.
Too slow to be an attacking midfielder and not robust enough to be an anchor, he will need a radical improvement to transform his loan spell from Real Madrid into anything more substantial.
The regret at full-time was tangible because it has been a promising few weeks for Rodgers. Some of those shadows from his early months in charge have started to lift, the lingering odours vaporised in the Mersey breeze.
There is so much to like about the new Liverpool manager, from the idealism of his football outlook to the affable, sincere tone of manner.
But he also knows well-wishing from the Kop is nothing unless his Liverpool team gets results, and that is what they have started to do. They have not lost many under him, but they draw far too much.
Rodgers made European progress a priority with a thin squad, and it is certainly still attainable. After managing those limited resources over the previous five European fixtures, he will now be compelled to travel full strength to Italy to avoid another late mishap.
Match details
Liverpool (4-2-1-3): Reina; Wisdom (sub Gerrard 31), Carragher, Skrtel; Downing, Sahin, Henderson; Suso (Suarez 61); Assaidi, Cole (Sterling 75), Shelvey.
Subs: Jones (g), Enrique, Gerrard, Allen, Coates.
Booked: Sahin.
Young Boys (4-2-3-1): Wolfli; Lecjaks, Veskovac (sub Ojala 22), Nef, Sutter; Farenerud, Zverotic; Nuzzola (Frey 77), Schneuwly (Vitkieviez 81), Zarate; Bobalilla.
Subs: Mvogo, Gonzalez, Costanzo, Doubai.
Booked: Zverotic.
Referee: A Yefet (Israel)
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