Curtis Jones scores to sink Chelsea and reclaim top spot for Liverpool | Premier League

Competitors or pretenders? It was a fair question for Liverpool after an almost flawless start to life under Arne Slot, albeit without a first serious test in the Premier League. Chelsea made sure of that and Liverpool found the answers, returning to the top of the table thanks to a grueling, thrilling defeat against Enzo Maresco's upstart team.

Mohamed Salah and the outstanding Curtis Jones secured the win – the seventh in eight league games under Slot – and Nicolas Jackson scored a second-half equaliser. Unfortunately, VAR and referee John Brooks were also prominently featured. Chelsea played with confidence but with little lead. Liverpool showed resilience, organization and grit as they looked to strengthen their claim as potentially the biggest threat to Manchester City's dominance this season.

Liverpool's leadership changed the face of the competition after Chelsea made a more confident and composed start. Not that they seriously bothered Caoimhín Kelleher, who replaced the injured Alisson in Liverpool's goal. The visitors dominated possession, but the hosts' tendency to give the ball away cheaply was not the only cause of the home crowd's annoyance. Brooks also lit the mood, so much so that even Slot's usual cool demeanor disappeared on the sidelines.

There were just six minutes on the clock when Diogo Jota was brought down by Tosin Adarabioyo as the pair chased Salah's long ball into Chelsea's half. The precedent had apparently been set 24 hours earlier when William Saliba received a red card for bringing down Bournemouth striker Evanilson in a similar position. However, unlike the Arsenal defender, the Chelsea centre-back was shown a yellow card and the decision was supported by VAR Michael Oliver. One difference between the two incidents and Adarabioyo's rescue was that his defensive colleague Levi Colwill was in close proximity and there was sufficient ground to cover.

The color of the card wasn't Jota's only problem. The Liverpool striker suffered a violent, accidental blow from the strong midfield half after the foul and spent the next 20 minutes in visible discomfort. He was eventually replaced by Darwin Núñez.

Chelsea escaped again when Cody Gakpo canceled out a poor save from Robert Sánchez, who was lucky to see the ball fly back into his arms. But the Chelsea goalkeeper showed a completely unconvincing performance. Sánchez's sloppy distribution and indecision caused problems for his own team throughout. Jones would punish both mistakes.

With the influential Alexis Mac Allister on the bench following his international call-up and a recent muscle problem, Jones played in Liverpool's midfield for only his second league appearance this season. Not only did he seize the opportunity and minimize the impact of Mac Allister's absence. He orchestrated Liverpool's victory.

A two-minute break midway through the first half highlighted the midfielder's meaningful contribution. First, Jones made an excellent save on the ground to prevent Cole Palmer from converting Noni Madueke's cross after the Chelsea winger had beaten Andy Robertson again on the byline. Seconds later, as Slot and Anfield raged over Brooks' refusal to award Salah a penalty after a touch from Colwill, Jones appeared in the opposition area to collect Salah's deflected cross. The 23-year-old was clearly caught from behind by Colwill as he lined up to shoot, and this time Brooks didn't hesitate to point to the penalty spot. Salah scored the penalty convincingly into the goal. Slot allowed himself a small fist bump.

Jones almost scored a second goal for a Liverpool team that acted with greater energy and purpose after taking the lead. He did an excellent job of dispossessing Moisés Caicedo and sending Salah a low cross which Gakpo converted at the back post. An offside flag against Salah marred these celebrations. In first-half stoppage time, Jones raced toward a pass from Núñez that split the defense. Sánchez came at him, sent the midfielder to the ground and received a yellow card for protesting the resulting penalty. However, both the penalty and yellow card were overturned after Brooks was instructed to look at the pitchside monitor and noticed that Sánchez had touched the ball.

Minutes after the restart, Liverpool's frustration with the VAR grew. Jackson raced through Caicedo's fine pass and beat Kelleher with a low finish that was immediately disallowed for offside. However, a detailed investigation revealed that the Chelsea striker had been pinned by the toes of Ibrahima Konaté, sparking a mass sprint from the players in blue to the away end as the equalizer finally came. Their joy lasted less than three minutes.

Salah dismantled the entire Chelsea defense with an exquisite cross from the left. Adarabioyo, Colwill and Sánchez were all captured in the statue. By the time they reacted, it was too late. Fittingly, Jones shot into space to beat Sánchez with a close-range finish. It was his first Premier League goal since New Year's Day and would prove crucial, although Palmer and substitute Christopher Nkunku missed good chances as Chelsea pushed for a second equalizer late on.