Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Curtis Jones sends Reds back to the top

When Arne Slot had suggested Chelsea were potential champions, it posed the question of whether they could keep up with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. It soon transpired they could not keep up with the Joneses.

Or not Curtis Jones, anyway. Winners are not always scored by the best player on the pitch but, in a match that could shape two clubs’ seasons, this one was. Jones’ display of extraordinary dynamism restored Liverpool to the top of the table. It meant that Chelsea, already beaten by Manchester City, have failed their two biggest tests of the season so far. Liverpool, now seven points clear of them, have passed their toughest.

They did so courtesy of a couple of very different indictments of Chelsea’s transfer business. Many a charge can be levelled at Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital but it was a previous Chelsea regime who let Mohamed Salah leave. With a goal and an assist, he gave them added reasons to regret a past mistake. If Jones is precisely the kind of player the modern-day Chelsea would sell, Liverpool do not need to dispense with homegrown talents for pure profit. Jones joined them at nine. At 23, he had one of his finest afternoons in a red shirt.

The previous time Chelsea lost to Liverpool they were labelled the “blue billion-pound bottle jobs”. Eight months on, there was a more flattering appraisal, and from the victor. “If I would be a Chelsea manager, I would say if we can play like this at Anfield, we can compete for a top-four position,” said Arne Slot. This wasn’t a repeat of the Carabao Cup final, the extra-time failure against Jurgen Klopp’s kids, or their last trip to Anfield, the 4-1 walloping in January.

There was more respectability in a reverse. “We don’t like to lose, but if we have to, we choose this way,” said Enzo Maresca, who pronounced himself “proud but also upset”. The Italian may have been exaggerating when he said: “We controlled most of the game”. Slot’s verdict on his 2-1 win may have been fairer. “In an ideal world, we would have outplayed them completely but it was an equal game,” he said.

Arne Slot was delighted with the contribution from new dad Curtis Jones at both ends of the pitch after he scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea that sent Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League.

Jones tucked in Liverpool’s second goal six minutes into the second half, moments after Nicolas Jackson’s equaliser, having already made a crucial block to deny Cole Palmer and then won the penalty from which Mohamed Salah opened the scoring.

Jones thought he had won a second penalty before half-time when he collided with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Referee John Brooks pointed to the spot but the decision was overturned after a VAR intervention.

Even though that was not to be, it was an outstanding all-round display from the 23-year-old.

Liverpool’s next match takes place in the Champions League, as they travel to Germany to face RB Leipzig on Wednesday. They then travel to London for a huge game at the top of the table, as they face Arsenal at 4.30pm on Sunday, 27 October.

Chelsea travel to Greece to face Panathinaikos in midweek, before they host Newcastle on Sunday at 2pm.

Despite criticising Sanchez, Carragher is full of praise for Chelsea overall.

“I thought Chelsea were excellent,” he says.

“When managers come up against each other they try to do something different to throw the oppositions setup.

“They caused Liverpool problems. In terms of control of the game Chelsea were better, but what let them down was the goalkeeper.

“The thing Chelsea didn’t do enough of in the second half was create chances.

“Liverpool were hanging on at times and they were hanging on to get to the final whistle,” he adds.

From Chelsea’s point of view, the pundits are unsure on the role of Sanchez when they conceded the second goal.

“It’s so poor from Chelsea’s point [of view]. Reece James ambles in there,” says Carragher.

“The goalkeeper is so poor. It was a poor touch from Curtis Jones really, and it’s poor from the goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez.

“Sanchez has got to go and win that ball.

“Jones should be terrified that a goalkeeper is coming towards him. You have got to get there and hope it hits you in the face and you keep it out.

“Chelsea need a new goalkeeper if they want to get back to where they want to be,” he adds.

There’s plenty more coming from Carragher, Richards and Sturridge on TV.

The first notable comments surround Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, who Sturridge is keen to defend.

“Nicolas Jackson is pivotal to the system,” he says.

“He’s good at going into the false nine position. It was a fantastic finish, calm in front of goal.

“I am analysing him on open play. I’m not analysing him on statistics, I don’t think he’s devastating in front of goal, but I think he has what it takes to get there.

“When you’re playing in the spotlight at any top club you are judged because of likes of Drogba, Anelka and Crespo - you’re judging him compared to those world-class strikers.

“I think we have been a bit too critical,” he adds.

Reece James also briefly spoke to Sky after the match.

“Coming here is always tough,” he said.

“I think we controlled most of the game. They had chances but we had a few chances as well but didn’t take them.

“We are definitely moving in the right direction. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the game,” he added.

“If we step back and look at performances and what we are trying to do, we have come a long way. It is still early days, we haven’t been with the manager long.”

Enzo Maresca is next to speak to Sky. He says Chelsea “don’t like to lose or drop points, but I really liked the performance”.

“We deserved something more but the performance was good.

“We controlled most of the game. We had chances, we had possession. We don’t like to lose, but if we have to choose this is the way. The team was brave on and off the ball.

“I don’t think this game defines where we are. We prepared in the best way, it worked quite well. You have to take chances, but overall I am very happy with the players.”

On refereeing decisions, he adds: “I didn’t see anything in terms of decisions from the referee. The only thing I can see is in this stadium is is something the noise of the crowd.

“The only thing I can say is the referee is there to make decisions. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes it is because of the noise [of the crowd], but overall I think they did OK.”

Arne Slot is understandably delighted as he speaks to Sky.

“The most important thing, if you want to have a chance of winning a game like this, is that you work so hard, which we did,” he says.

“In the meantime, we created a few very good chances, and were a bit unlucky with some decisions,” he adds.

 “I think it could’ve been a crucial decision to overturn the referee’s decision [on the penalty]. If you look at it on a screen, you still feel it is a penalty.”

He adds that he thinks the early last-man challenge from Tosin on Jota was also a red card.

“The fans helped us a lot, it probably comes from these decisions.

“In the end, a good win against a very strong Chelsea,” he says, before adding that Curtis Jones put in a “very good individual performance”.

“Curtis had a difficult job, he had to control Cole Palmer, which is not easy. He was very important for us on both parts of the pitch. 

“Everybody who saw the game knows it wasn’t easy. For us it’s very good that we made a bit of a gap now.”