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Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday night to share the spoils in what was an evenly contested Premier League clash at Anfield. Both goals - from Mohamed Salah for Liverpool and Willian for Chelsea - came in the second half with the Blues earning a point with only five minutes to go.
The result sees Jurgen Klopp extend his unbeaten run against Chelsea to five games (2 wins and 3 draws) but his side are now in danger of slipping to sixth place if Sunday's results don't go their way. Defending champions Chelsea remain in third place - eight points behind league leaders Manchester City (who have a game in hand).
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Liverpool field a conservative starting lineup
Fans hoping for an exciting encounter against two traditional Premier League rivals were left disappointed when the starting lineups were announced. Jurgen Klopp had left out both Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, opting to go with former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge up front and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left.
The idea was to stop Chelsea on the counter-attack since Antonio Conte had deployed them in a 3-5-2 to increase numbers in midfield.
The Reds' midfield also saw James Milner slot in on the right side with the job of not only advancing the ball but also breaking up play when Chelsea countered. Although he turned over possession a couple of times early on and was dribbled past on a couple of occasions - once in his own half - he did manage to make four successful tackles to stop the Blues.
Even when Klopp made substitutions, it was to bring on Georginio Wijnaldum so he could play Salah up top while maintaining control in midfield. That control was lost when Conte reacted by bringing on two wingers to spread the game out wide and create goalscoring opportunities.
#2 Battle of Mohamed Salah vs Eden Hazard
22 men took the pitch but it was two players who lit up the field with their performances tonight. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Chelsea's Eden Hazard.
The 'Egyptian Messi' was at his best as he made a nuisance of himself in and around the Chelsea box. Salah was able to take 7 shots in the game - the highest from both sides - out of which two were on target.
Gary Cahill had a tough time marking Salah who was slippery when he had the ball at his feet and almost scored after turning the English defender on the edge of the box. However, his goal came thanks to a diagonal run which overloaded Chelsea's defence and allowed him to poke the ball past Thibaut Courtois.
The only complaint one can have on Salah is his inability to use his right foot as well as his left. A couple of instances saw him receive the ball on his right foot and had he opted to shoot rather than create a chance with his left, he may have troubled the Blues.
On the other hand, Hazard seemed to be the only player in a blue shirt who was capable of making something happen. The Belgian completed 8 dribbles in the first half alone!
He dropped deep a few times to collect the ball and found himself stranded with no other player available for a pass, after which he took it upon himself to advance the ball forward, causing Liverpool some problems at the back.
#3 Time for Klopp to drop Jordan Henderson?
Liverpool have been bypassed far too often in midfield in recent games and it's the defence that surprisingly gets a lot of criticism.
The middle of the park has been an issue for quite some time and Klopp must surely identify Reds skipper Jordan Henderson as a weak link in the side. The England international put in a disappointing shift as he was dribbled past five times in the game.
The 27-year-old attempted 5 tackles in the game with a 0% success rate and failed to make any interceptions in a game where Chelsea looked to create opportunities through the middle. In contrast, N'Golo Kante made 4 tackles and 2 interceptions.
In a 4-3-3 formation, Henderson is not suited to play as the lone pivot. He was in the wrong position a number of times and does not read the game well, failing to spot runs until it is too late.
The captain's armband now seems to be the only reason Henderson still makes the lineup.
#4 Conte made his substitutions too late
One of Conte's primary reasons for picking Danny Drinkwater instead of Cesc Fabregas in the starting lineup was to deploy the low block that kept Liverpool at bay for much of the game - especially in the first half.
Drinkwater had also been tasked with making runs from midfield to have the extra man in the box. It was a tactic Conte used against Manchester United with Tiemoue Bakayoko and it almost worked twice in the first half with the final ball lacking to do any real damage.
However, Drinkwater was largely anonymous in the second half and when Liverpool were threatening to score, Conte kept him on. But once Liverpool scored, Conte still waited almost 10 minutes before he brought on Fabregas.
The Spanish midfielder got busy almost immediately, spotting Alvaro Morata's runs and finding him with ease, denied only by the offside flag because Morata had started his run a tad too early.
The Blues looked a far better team in the closing stages and they could have actually won the game if Fabregas and Willian had been brought on earlier. Because...
#5 Alberto Moreno lacked support despite putting in a shift
Liverpool full-back Alberto Moreno has had a decent season so far and built up a reputation which was harshly undone by that performance against Sevilla in the Champions League.
The 25-year-old Spaniard attempted 10 tackles and completed 8 tackles - a game high. He also managed to make 2 interceptions in the game. But there were instances when he failed to spot midfield runs - especially those made by Drinkwater.
The only problem for Liverpool was that he lacked support out on the left flank. Chelsea's Davide Zappacosta had been tasked with kissing the touchline and stretching the Liverpool defence with constant runs down Moreno's flank.
But with Philippe Coutinho failing to track back and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain drifting towards the middle to make up numbers, Alonso was forced to protect the left side of Liverpool's box all on his own.
It's one of the reasons why Liverpool eventually conceded. With both Willian and Pedro out on the same flank, Moreno was hesitant to step out and tackle Willian as abandoning his position would have allowed Pedro to make a run in behind for the Brazilian to slip the ball to.
