Liverpool made it a mightily impressive seven wins from eight in the Premier League against Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, but it was anything but straightforward for Arne Slot’s men at Anfield.

The Reds had to make do with a narrow 2-1 victory on the day, with the slim win seeing them move back up to the top of the pile for the time being, as the table toppers picked up the important three points by any means necessary after Manchester City’s earlier away win at Molineux.

Chelsea might well have edged possession and bettered the hosts when it came to shots on goal, but Liverpool would come away victorious at the end in gutsy fashion, as Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah stood out for Slot’s men.

Jones & Salah’s excellent performances

Not many Liverpool fans would be shocked that Salah put in another excellent showing to add to his distinguished Reds back catalogue on Sunday, but some might well have been taken aback by Jones’ stunning display centrally.

This was only his second start of the season after all in league action, but he will be demanding more starts from this point onwards, after scoring the crucial second strike for his side to send Anfield into raptures.

Evading all of his Chelsea markers to prod home the winner, after a sublime Salah ball into the area cut apart the Blues back four, Jones would rightfully bask in the glory of scoring the decisive strike, having been a standout performer all afternoon away from this golden moment.

Only misplacing four of his 41 passes during the 2-1 win, Jones was as stylish on the ball as he was gritty when Slot’s men needed him to be, with six duels also won to show off his defensive prowess away from solely being the match winner.

Salah was also unsurprisingly front and centre of most electric attacking moves Liverpool mustered up, with the tricky Egyptian opening the scoring from the penalty spot, in what was an arguably contentious call from the referee.

Liverpool would have been thankful for moments like that going in their favour at full-time, however, with the Reds also shaky in patches in the slim victory notably in defence courtesy of Ibrahima Konate.

Konate’s performance vs Chelsea

It wasn’t an entirely convincing showing from the Liverpool number five, who was at fault for the only goal that went the way of Maresca’s side in the back-and-forth contest.

Konate would just about keep Nicolas Jackson onside – with his leg amazingly the difference between offside and onside – who fired home the equaliser for the visitors early into the second 45 minutes, only for that to be ripped up when Jones restored the one-goal advantage moments later.

It was an off-day from the towering Frenchman away from just this moment of action, as Konate lost 80% of his duels in an uncharacteristically weak showing, alongside only managing to register one tackle as Chelsea then grew in confidence that they could potentially nick something late on.

His poor performance was reflected in Daily Express journalist Alex Turk’s post-match ratings, with the ex-RB Leipzig defender receiving a low 6/10 rating, compared to Jones and Salah who both picked up a stellar 9/10.

With more and more fixtures now coming at a rapid pace for the Reds, as three more games in all competitions come before the close of the month, Slot could be prepared to shuffle his pack and drop Konate for his team’s latest test in the Champions League mid-week against his ex-employers.

It has worked in the Dutchman’s favour here, as Jones delivered the goods after being introduced into the XI away at Crystal Palace, and could well work out in Germany as Liverpool seek out their third win in Europe’s top competition.

Regardless of what lineup is picked, Slot will have full faith in his group moving forward, as Liverpool continue to perform like a well-oiled machine under the ex-Feyenoord boss.

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