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.

Aston Villa rediscovered their winning form in the Premier League with a dominant 3-1 victory over 10-man Fulham.

Raul Jimenez’s fifth-minute fifth goal of the season had put Fulham ahead against a Villa side who had drawn their last two domestic matches.

But Morgan Rogers equalised soon after in the ninth and, after Andreas Pereira scuffed a penalty for Fulham, Ollie Watkins put Villa ahead before they took advantage of Joachim Andersen’s red card to wrap the game up through an Issa Diop own goal.

Sometimes, well, you can actually change the players rather than the manager. At least for one match. In a game where both coaches were under some pressure, Ange Postecoglou was proactive with his own replacements, while Julen Lopetegui paid for his indecisiveness. The wonder is whether the Basque will even be at West Ham by the time Mohammed Kudus returns to the team, as the forward is facing at least a three-game ban, after one game here that visibly frustrated him.

His team were dismal in a 4-1 defeat that could have seen Tottenham score eight. As deserving as that would have been, the victory was still the tale of two subs – or really four. Spurs had been beginning to get on top towards the end of the first half, with Dejan Kulusevski having equalised Kudus’s own opening strike. There was still more that could be done, though, especially given that James Maddison had been quite ineffective. That was particularly so at corners.

Perhaps it took a sense of injustice to spare Manchester United further ignominy. When the half-time whistle blew, they were losing and losing their rag, Brentford on course for a first win at Old Trafford since 1937, and United set for a third consecutive league defeat at Old Trafford – a fate they had not suffered since 1979. As it stood, they were the joint lowest scorers in the Premier League, their drought stretching past five hours. The class of 2024 were failing, the class of 2004 fuming. Ruud van Nistelrooy was booked. Darren Fletcher ran after the officials in the tunnel.

Ethan Pinnock’s opener – though actually far less controversial than United imagined – had annoyed their past. Their present responded. The temptation was to call it a much-needed win for Erik ten Hag, though perhaps the scarcity of victories means they all are, but ended with a first triumph in six games, just a fourth in 12 outings this season. The outstanding Alejandro Garnacho delivered a wonderful equaliser, Rasmus Hojlund a decider to cap a show of spirit.

Mikel Arteta lamented the “impossible task” faced by Arsenal following William Saliba’s red card as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth to miss the chance to go top of the Premier League.

The defender was dismissed after 30 minutes following a VAR review for hauling down striker Evanilson near the halfway line and denying him a clear run on goal.

It set the stage for a first league loss this season for Arteta’s side who conceded a second-half rocket to Ryan Christie before Justin Kluivert’s late penalty, though the story could have been different had Gabriel Martinelli not fired a golden chance straight at goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga moments before the Scot’s opener.

John Stones scored a last-gasp header, which was subject to a dramatic VAR call, to earn Manchester City a 2-1 win at Wolves.

City looked like failing to capitalise on Arsenal’s slip-up at Bournemouthas they were being held after Jorgen Strand Larsen’s early opener for the dogged hosts was cancelled out by Josko Gvardiol.

But Stones climbed highest in the fifth minute of added time to power home Phil Foden’s corner and spark wild scenes of celebration.

Game one is out of the way...

The best beginning to a reign made by any Liverpool manager is only a start. Arne Slot has found ways of deflecting the compliments his immediate impact at Anfield has generated. He has referenced the reality that some of his predecessors’ medal collections are sufficiently impressive that they do not need to be judged by their first 10 games or an early-season status as league leaders. He has cited the relatively kind fixture list: Liverpool have played the teams currently occupying 17th, 11th, 14th, 10th, 13th, 20th and 18th places. Their Carabao Cup win was against the club in 12th. Their Champions League victories were against the sides sitting sixth and 13th respectively in Serie A.

And now it gets harder. Liverpool’s next month amounts to a barometer of their prospects, a test of whether they are title challengers, potential Champions League winners, able to retain the Carabao Cup that proved Jurgen Klopp’s last trophy. It is Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Brighton, Brighton again, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, a seven-game stretch that could derail Liverpool’s ambitions or serve as a springboard to a challenge on multiple fronts.

For Slot, it amounts to a voyage of discovery. Have his first 10 games given him a clear idea of what Liverpool can achieve or is he still trying to find out himself?

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.