Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool - The Reds drop first points of the season allow City to take the lead ahead of next weeks big game.

For a second time this week Chelsea and Liverpool met to battle against each other and once again delivered a thrilling game of football. Liverpool will be disappointed that their 100% run has come to an end, Chelsea will be disappointed that they were minutes away from taking all 3 points but all things considered, I believe both sides would have taken a draw if offered to them ahead of this game and will be satisfied to come out with 1 point once the initial heartache has eased.

Much to the delight of all Liverpool fans, Virgil van Dijk overcame his recent injury and started for the Reds as Klopp made 9 changes from the team who faced Chelsea in the Carabao cup on Wednesday. Chelsea made 8 changes as they brought Hazard, Kante, Jorginho and company in as they reverted back to their strongest line up too. Chelsea came into this game after dropping points against West Ham in their previous league game with Maurizio Sarri saying his side were far behind Liverpool in terms of development claiming he'd need a year to catch them up. But looking at the sides starting lineups as they came head to head, there really isn't much between them on paper. Both have world class quality throughout the team and look capable of pushing Manchester City all the way in the race for the title this season.

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The first half was action packed and there were good chances for both sides in front of goal. Edin Hazard had torn Liverpool open with a magical strike on Wednesday so they were fully aware of the threat Chelsea possessed. In Mo Salah though Liverpool have a superstar forward of their own and he had a couple of good chances to score early on. The first was an opportunity given to him by Chelsea's players, the ball dropped to him on the edge of the area and he looked set to curl it into the top corner with his left foot like he had done so regularly last season. Instead, he struck a tame effort against the floor and it was easily gathered by Chelsea's keeper. Shortly afterwards he was back in the same position after getting a nice ball to his feet from Trent Alexander Arnold, Salah turned to get away from Kante and around Rudiger but this time sliced the shot high, wide and well away from the target. Chelsea created their own chances too as Luiz played a fantastic ball forward, cutting out the entire Liverpool defence as Willian latched onto it. Alisson in the Liverpool goal read it well though and ran out to get his body in the way just as Willian struck the shot to block it.

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Chelsea then took the lead, once again it was the Belgian winger who struck to put his team ahead. He was involved in creating it too when he, Jorginho and Kovacic played the ball between one another in a series of nice passes before he made a run forward latching on to an excellent through ball from Kovacic. Hazard's confidence was clear to see as he didn't think twice about going for goal and striking it hard and low into the far corner, Alisson did manage to brush his fingertips on it as it flew past but couldn't stop it and just like that Chelsea were ahead. Liverpool kept going though and Firmino played a ball forward towards Salah who got away from his marker and around the Chelsea goalkeeper. His touch, unfortunately, took him just a bit too wide and although he managed to direct his shot on target, he couldn't get the power and it gave Rudiger just enough time to get back and make the clearance before it crossed the line. The Egyptian has scored 3 goals so far this season which isn't a bad total after 7 games. But it is evident from his performances that there is something not quite right with him this season, he looked to be back somewhere near his former glory last week at Southampton but at Samford Bridge, the smile was gone again and he cut a frustrated figure as he once again squandered chances to score.

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Liverpool came out in the 2nd half and seemed to control the game a lot more, Chelsea may have sat back willing to hold their lead and just try to pick Liverpool off with counter attacks rather than go toe to toe with them. For all the passing and possession Liverpool's attacks continued to lead to nothing as the final ball always seemed to fall short or off target. Salah dropped deep to try and win the ball but committed a foul, Chelsea reacted and took the free-kick quickly launching a counter sending Hazard one on one with Alisson. The Chelsea forward took the ball right into the box and hit the shot well enough but Alisson managed to get the angle and run right and managed to block it with his leg. It was a big save from the Brazil keeper as a 2-0 lead would have surely sealed the victory for the Londoners but with just a single goal lead Liverpool still had a hope of getting something from this game. There was little surprise afterwards when Mo Salah's number was shown and he was replaced by Xerdan Shaqiri. The Swiss winger who'd played well on Wednesday came into the game and should have made an immediate impact when Robertson played a low cross to him inside the box, but he sliced at the ball and it veered off wide. Roberto Firmino had a good chance to score with his head but was denied and Liverpool brought on Naby Keita who did create some good chances but ultimately couldn't break the resolve of Chelsea.

Time was running out and it looked like Liverpool were also running out of ideas too. With just a few minutes remaining Klopp made his final substitute and brought on Daniel Sturridge in place of Milner. He didn't have long to make an impact and he didn't need long either, with his first touch he managed to pull off a spectacular wonder goal and level things up. Words I say won't really do it justice so if you would like to watch the goal it can be viewed Here. It was an exceptional strike and similar to an effort he'd attempted on Wednesday that clipped the bar, luckily this one sailed right into the top corner and gave the keeper no chance.

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Sturridge has been plagued by injury throughout his career but nobody has ever doubted his talent for scoring goals when fit. This was a stunning strike that not only maintained Liverpool's undefeated start to the season but could also prove vital come the end of the season. With Mo Salah struggling at the moment Liverpool fans are already calling for Klopp to give Sturridge a chance in the starting lineup more regular. I still hold out hope of Salah getting through this dip and getting back to his goalscoring form from last season, but believe Sturridge could prove just as important over the course of the season and hope that he can stay fit to provide more goals from the bench.

It was not a victory, but it was a great game and a massive point for Liverpool as they made it through 5 of the 7 huge games they were faced with. Up next they turn their attention back to the Champions League as they go to Italy to take on Napoli then following that next Sunday they return to Anfield and host Manchester City in another huge match which could have big ramifications on this season's title race.