Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones shine as leaders Liverpool see off Chelsea

Liverpool maintained their grip on top spot in the Premier League as Mohamed Salah's penalty and a Curtis Jones strike earned them a deserved 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday.

The hosts had the better of the opening half and led when the impressive Jones won a penalty and Salah thumped home. Nicolas Jackson briefly raised Chelsea's hopes of a comeback with a leveller within minutes of the restart but Salah and Jones combined again, this time the Egyptian star teeing up the England midfielder to tuck away the winner.

“The win is the most important thing. I was involved a lot but I’m happy that we won,” said Jones before praising Salah for finding him for the winning goal.

“There’s been times when I have arrived in the box and it is a first-time finish. As soon as Mo had the ball I made the run, but it bounced so I had to have a touch, and then thankfully it went in.”

Chelsea skipper Reece James, who returned to the side after a spell out, felt they could take positives from their performance. "Coming here is always tough. I think we controlled most of the game. They had chances but we had a few chances as well but didn't take them," he said.

"We are definitely moving in the right direction. The scoreline doesn't reflect the game. 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."

Liverpool started the game having been knocked off the top by Manchester City's dramatic 2-1 victory at Wolves in the early kick off. A run of six wins and a solitary defeat had taken them to the summit, with new boss Arne Slot's start in the Anfield dugout being hailed a triumph. The obvious caveat was that they had so far collected their points in games they might be expected to win, so this clash against Enzo Maresca's improving Chelsea side was expected to add more context to initial perceptions of their progress under the Dutch coach.

An early ball over the top saw Tosin Adarabioyo bundle over Diogo Jota in an ungainly tangle on halfway that left the Chelsea man booked and the Portuguese forward grimacing in pain.

But if Jota was struggling, his attacking partner Salah was thriving. The Egyptian's shot caused mayhem in the Chelsea box and Levi Colwill tripped Jones in the aftermath. Referee John Brooks pointed to the spot and Salah made no mistake.

The hosts continued to press the action and thought they had another penalty when Robert Sanchez pole-axed Jones in the box. A VAR review came to Chelsea's rescue, however, with the keeper deemed to have played the ball first.

As it was, Slot's side had to settle for a well-earned 1-0 lead and the comfort of knowing it had been 146 games since they had last lost when leading at the break on home turf.

Yet, within five minutes of the restart, that record looked under threat when Jackson raced on to Moises Caicedo's pass and finished past Caoimhin Kelleher.

Chelsea were level but simply could not keep Jones out of the action, and the midfielder soon restored Liverpool's lead when he collected Salah's pass and lifted a deft finish past Sanchez.

Maresca responded with a triple change but despite the occasional flash of quality from Pedro Neto and Christopher Nkunku, Liverpool were worth their three points.