IF Thomas Tuchel tuned in to witness this heavyweight Premier League battle, there would have been one man who made him sit up and take notice.

And while there were six Englishmen in the starting line-up of his former club Chelsea, it was Liverpool’s match-winner Curtis Jones who demanded his attention.

Curtis Jones celebrating his winner in a match full of VAR drama

Jones beat the offside trap to restore Liverpool’s lead on 51 minutes

Jones did not just net the winner early in the second half to send Liverpool back to the top of the table, but he won the penalty for Mo Salah’s opener, was originally awarded a second spot-kick, and produced an outstanding all-round display.

It was Liverpool’s seventh straight win in all competitions and their 10th in 11 outings under Arne Slot, as they re-asserted their one-point lead over champions Manchester City at the start of a run of demanding fixtures.

Nicolas Jackson slotted Chelsea level, after an offside ruling was overturned

Tosin Adebayo escaped with a yellow card for this challenge on Diogo Jota

From the off it was testy and tempestuous with ref John Brooks the centre of attention.

First up, Tosin Adarabioyo pulled down Diogo Jota just inside the Chelsea half but with Levi Colwill covering the Chelsea defender escaped with a yellow card – narrowly avoiding the same fate as Arsenal’s William Saliba the previous day.

Next Jadon Sancho went down after a tangle with Trent Alexander-Arnold but Brooks turned down his penalty appeals.Chelsea were playing some neat stuff early on.

Noni Madueke, who was giving kittens to Andy Robertson, teed up for Cole Palmer, whose shot was blocked by Jones.But then the Liverpool penalty shouts began to rain down.

Salah went down under pressure from Colwill but the Egyptian was too obvious in looking for spot-kick.Slot earned a yellow for dissent but he didn’t have to wait long for a successful spot-kick appeal against Colwill.

This time Colwill tripped Jones and Brooks pointed to the spot, Salah hammering home and sending Robert Sanchez the wrong way after plenty of Chelsea delaying tactics.It was Salah’s seventh goal of the season and a kick in the wotsits for the club which allowed him to leave early in his career.

Robert Sanchez couldn’t keep out Mo Salah’s penalty opener

Jota, struggling after an early knock, was replaced by Darwin Nunez but soon Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead.

A poor kick from Sanchez put Chelsea under pressure and a slick move from Jones to Salah to Cody Gakpo, netting at the back stick, came to nothing courtesy of an offside flag.

Maresca was hopping mad when Nicolas Jackson angled a shot narrowly wide of the near post when he might have aimed across goal.

In first-half injury-time, Nunez slipped a pass to Jones, who kippered Tosin with his turn and was brought down by an on-rushing Sanchez.

Brooks pointed to the spot again but was sent to his screen by VAR Michael Oliver who spotted that Sanchez touched the ball before the man.

The on-field ref concurred with his more senior colleague in Stockley Park – but Sanchez had got lucky – it was a subjective call and the ‘light touch’ VAR approach appears to be fading, as most refereeing edicts do.

Before the break, Madueke teased Robertson again and laid back for Palmer, who shot over.It was a warning shot for Liverpool but one they didn’t heed because Chelsea were soon level at the start of the second.

Caicedo’s through-ball was met by a perfectly-timed run from Jackson who drilled past Caoimhin Kelleher – although Oliver was needed again to overturn an incorrect offside call.

Slot’s men were straight back at it, though, and regained their lead within 76 seconds.

Jones surged to the back post in response to Salah’s low center, evading the offside trap and managing to poke past Sanchez. After halftime, Maresca substituted Pedro Neto for Sancho and then made three changes: Enzo Fernandez, Benoit Badiashile, and Renato Veiga.

However, Liverpool handled their little lead sensibly.

Ten minutes later, Jones left to a standing ovation; it’s possible that Tuchel stood up from his couch to join in the cheers.