In taking Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table, Arne Slot has made light work of replacing Jurgen Klopp as manager at Anfield.
Six wins from seven coming into this weekend was an impressive record but that start to the season still carried an asterisk — up until Sunday’s visit of Chelsea, Liverpool had not faced a team currently in the top nine.
If this was the sternest test yet of the Dutchman’s credentials since taking the job — and the first truly significant barometer of whether his side are genuine title challengers — the manager and his players passed it in impressive fashion.
Mohamed Salah scored a first-half penalty after Curtis Jones was brought down by Levi Colwill.
Liverpool briefly thought they had a second spot-kick after Robert Sanchez sent Jones crashing to the floor, but a VAR review showed the Chelsea keeper got the ball first and the decision was overturned.
Chelsea started the second half strongly and were again the beneficiaries of VAR, when a review judged Nicolas Jackson to have been onside after he capitalised on a defence-splitting pass from Moises Caicedo and poked the ball past Caoimhin Kelleher.
But Liverpool restored their lead within three minutes, Jones popping up unmarked in space to prod a close-range finish past Sanchez.
The result keeps Liverpool one point clear of second-placed Manchester City and four ahead of third-placed Arsenal.
James Pearce, Simon Johnson and Mark Carey analyse the main talking points.
Slot passes his toughest test yet
Slot had warned his players they would be facing their toughest test of the season so far.
The visit of Chelsea, who had won all their previous away league games this season, marked the start of a crunch run of seven matches in the space of 20 days which will seriously test Liverpool’s hopes to compete for the biggest prizes this season.
This hard-fought victory provides the perfect platform to build on.
Slot had clearly learned lessons from the defeat by Nottingham Forest after the September international break as he left out Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz following their long journeys back to Merseyside after playing in South America. Mac Allister had missed training on Friday after feeling ill on the flight.
The sight of Slot desperately trying to get messages across to his players during the first half underlined that it was far from plain sailing. He clearly was not happy with the ease at which Chelsea played through the hosts at times.
But the most miserly backline in the Premier League stood firm. When Ibrahima Konate played Jackson onside in the build-up to Chelsea’s equaliser, it was a rare mis-step. For all their possession, the visitors only had two attempts on target all game.
Liverpool soaked up pressure at times and then countered with menace.
The sight of Diogo Jota limping off will be a source of concern for Slot but Darwin Nunez deputised admirably after coming off the bench.
It was not particularly fluent but it was certainly gritty as Slot’s Liverpool march on.
James Pearce
Jones rewards manager’s show of faith
What a way for Jones to cap such a memorable week.
The Liverpool midfielder became a father for the first time when his girlfriend Saffie gave birth to their daughter Giselle.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had,” he told the club website in the build-up to Sunday’s game.
Jones celebrated the new arrival in style as he more than vindicated Slot’s decision to hand him a second league start of the season.
Snapping into tackles and using the ball intelligently, the academy graduate was at the heart of everything that was best about Slot’s side. One cool turn to escape the attentions of Caicedo had the Kop purring early on.
Jones won the penalty which saw Salah fire Liverpool in front and thought he had earned a second spot-kick before that decision was overturned.
When Liverpool’s lead was wiped out by Jackson early in the second half, it was Jones who took control and provided the instant response.
His movement was outstanding as he darted into space and Salah picked him out with an inviting cross. Jones’ first touch was heavy but at full stretch he poked the ball past Sanchez, the thumb-sucking celebration a tribute to baby Giselle.
Jones received a standing ovation when he was replaced late on.
James Pearce
Was Tosin fortunate to stay on the pitch?
It would not be surprising if anyone watching the game experienced a bit of deja vu when Tosin Adarabioyo brought down Jota just inside the Chelsea half in the opening period of the game.
The incident looked like an action replay of what had taken place the day before, when Arsenal’s William Saliba was sent off for a professional foul on Evanilson during his side’s 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
That involved a defender being caught out by a ball over the top while pressing high up in his own half and pulling the attacker to the ground. Saliba was the last man, although it then took VAR to upgrade the challenge from a yellow to a red.
Tosin did pretty much the same thing in the same area of the pitch.
Liverpool fans at Anfield, and probably many Arsenal supporters tuning in at home, shouted for Tosin to be sent off.
Just like at Bournemouth, the referee, John Brooks, only booked the centre-half. But on this occasion VAR did not intervene and upgrade the punishment.
There was a key difference between the two controversial moments though. Whereas Arsenal’s Ben White was a big distance away from Saliba and struggling to provide any cover, Colwill was pretty close to Tosin and the ball was also arcing more towards the side of the pitch than directly at Sanchez in the Chelsea goal.
That will not appease Arsenal supporters, who will feel this is another example of inconsistency among the match officials in the Premier League.
Was Tosin lucky to not see red here? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/6DHRQufs1L
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 20, 2024
Simon Johnson
Why did Liverpool look vulnerable on their left side?
Any side facing Chelsea will know that keeping Cole Palmer quiet goes a long way to stopping Enzo Maresca’s core attacking threat.
Palmer’s propensity to drift into the right half-space can frequently cause uncertainty between the opposition central midfielder and left-back as he positions himself in space between the two.
Liverpool decided to combat this by playing left winger Cody Gakpo narrow out of possession, in an attempt to block those passes into Palmer at source — often forcing Chelsea to circulate the ball to the other side of the pitch.
This worked to an extent, where Palmer was particularly quiet in the first half, but the consequence of Liverpool’s out-of-possession shape meant there was an easy pass to Noni Madueke, who had plenty of joy running at left-back Andy Robertson when receiving in space.
As Palmer continued to pull into the half-space, Jones would occasionally follow him into wide areas which created gaps in Liverpool’s midfield and allowed Chelsea to play the ball through central spaces as they worked the ball forward.
Liverpool might have led at half-time, but Slot was visibly unhappy with how easily Chelsea were playing through his side at times, as he looked to get instructions across to his players during the first half.
Palmer might have been kept quiet in his on-ball actions, but the 22-year-old’s overall performance — coupled with Maresca’s tactics — created uncertainty in Liverpool’s shape that was an interesting battle throughout.
Mark Carey
James shows signs of rust on surprise start
There was a bit of a surprise before kick-off when the teams were announced and Reece James’ name was in Chelsea’s first XI.
The club captain last started a game 10 months ago, also on Merseyside, when he limped off against Everton. The 24-year-old has been struggling with hamstring injuries ever since, a problem that has hindered his career in recent years, and he broke down again with the problem during pre-season.
He has been working on his recovery in recent weeks, so much so Maresca did consider making the home game against Nottingham Forest the setting for his latest comeback.
That would have certainly been an easier environment than Anfield to make his first appearance of the season, even if it had just been off the bench. To use him from the outset in such a big game seemed a bit of a gamble.
For most of the first half, it looked like it was paying off. James won most of his duels with Gakpo. One dummy and calm pass out from the back brought cheers from the away end.
But it was inevitable there would be some signs of rust and his one major error proved very costly.
Chelsea were still on a high after Jackson’s equaliser in the 48th minute but Liverpool retook the lead three minutes later when Salah cross found a totally unmarked Jones.
It was initially a mystery how he could have found so much space but the replays showed James, who was covering that side of the penalty area, had rushed out in a bad effort to catch Liverpool offside.
Playing the offside line successfully requires communication and a great understanding with your team-mates. Can anyone be shocked that James got it completely wrong given the length of time he has been absent? Working on it in training is not the same thing.
Some of his fellow defenders arguably struggled more than James did at the back but significantly he was one of three players substituted before the restart.
Simon Johnson
What next for Liverpool?
Wednesday, October 23: RB Leipzig (H), Champions League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
What next for Chelsea?
Thursday, October 24: Panathinaikos (A), Champions League, 5.45pm UK, 12.45pm ET
Recommended reading
- Analysing Europe’s top four leagues: How does football in England, Italy, Spain and Germany compare?
(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
