Jones stars as Liverpool pass first serious test

Contenders or pretenders? It was a legitimate question to ask of Liverpool given their almost flawless start under Arne Slot and the wait for their first serious Premier League test. Old Trafford does not qualify. Chelsea provided it and Liverpool found the answers, hauling themselves back to the summit with defeat of Enzo Maresca's emerging team.

- Andy Hunter

New dad Curtis Jones secured victory - Slot's seventh in eight Premier League matches - moments after Nicolas Jackson had cancelled out Mohamed Salah's first-half penalty. Jones was outstanding one week after becoming a father and having slept in the spare room the night before.

The referee, John Brooks, and VAR were also prominent, which is never a good sign. Brooks shattered Slot's cool touchline demeanour with a perplexing performance, but not the Liverpool head coach's satisfaction at the most impressive league result of his short reign.

Chelsea played with confidence and composure, especially before Salah struck from the spot, and their quality on the ball at Anfield augurs well for the Maresca project. But there was a lack of cutting edge to the visitors. Liverpool recovered from a passive, careless opening to show the resilience, organisation and penetration to strengthen their claims to be potentially the biggest threat to Manchester City this season.