Liverpool fought back to hold Premier League title rivals Chelsea.
Kai Havertz had put the visitors ahead from a Reece James corner with a looping header which left Alisson grasping at air as the ball sailed into The Kop’s net.
The Reds pulled level during a highly-charged closing minutes of the first half which saw Reece James sent off for handling Sadio Mane’s effort on the line.
Mohamed Salah stepped up to wrong-foot Edouard Mendy from the ensuing penalty, sending his kick into the Chelsea goalkeeper’s bottom right-hand corner.
But despite their one-man advantage, Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to punish the European champions as honours ended even in Saturday’s cagey encounter.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Spot-kick chaos gifts Reds control
For large parts of the first half, Liverpool resembled great pretenders for this season’s Premier League title race more so than legitimate challengers.
Not only had Chelsea stunned The Kop with Kai Havertz’s early opener, they were in total control to the point of relegating their hosts to second-best status.
Yet Reece James’ dismissal for handball in the dying seconds swung the pendulum back in the Reds’ favour while the visitors completely lost their heads.
🎥 A moment of sheer madness that might just have turned the game back in #LFC‘s favour pic.twitter.com/Z02uF6uHEu #CFC #LIVCHE
— Liverpool FC news (@ClickLFC) August 28, 2021
As the right-back traipsed towards the tunnel, his teammates crowded around referee Anthony Taylor to convey their burning sense of injustice at his decision.
Such incidents can flip the outcome of a game on its head and Jurgen Klopp’s side reaped the benefits beyond Mohamed Salah’s levelling penalty kick.
They emerged for the second 45 minutes with a renewed purpose which forced Chelsea to retreat in a classic siege mentality to stave off an attacking onslaught.
All it took was one moment of madness to make the Londoners lose their grip.
Elliott already coming of age
Footballing adage dictates that if you are good enough, you are old enough – a philosophy to which Harvey Elliott is seemingly already a keen subscriber.
In the past fortnight, Klopp has entrusted the teenager not only with a full Premier League debut but also a follow-up against the European champions.
Games of such magnitude demand that players prove their worth, particularly those with the limited first-team experience as Elliott has enjoyed at Anfield.
Consensus dictated Klopp would instead call upon one of Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to complete Liverpool’s three-man midfield.
Whatever reservations he may have had about Elliott’s baptism of fire, however, were swifty dismissed by the player himself in a true Man of the Match display.
Smart passes and relentless pressing, coupled with continuing his pre-season habit of firing long-range attempts, left many Kopites purring in admiration.
Make no mistake, this kid is already something special.
Defensive duo win Lukaku battle
All the pre-match hype centred on an intriguing personal contest between the towering forces in defence and attack: Romelu Lukaku and Virgil van Dijk.
Chelsea’s new record signing returned to his former Merseyside parish with a point to prove against one of the eminent centre-backs in European football.
But Lukaku had more than Van Dijk to worry about when the game kicked off.
Even before a ball was kicked, the Dutchman’s partnership with Joel Matip boded well after putting together a run of 32 unbeaten Premier League starts together.
The duo increased that tally by making short work of Lukaku’s regular goal threat; utilising their basic defensive capabilities with some street smarts.
Van Dijk’s off-the-ball shouldering of the ex-Everton marksman knocked his opposite number off his stride as he attempted to surge down the left-hand side.
It drew raucous approval from the home crowd, too, as did Matip’s decisive block which denied Lukaku a clear sight at goal to convert a Marcos Alonso delivery.
On this form, more esteemed strikers will struggle to find a way past the pair.