Liverpool vs Chelsea: Five things we learned as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah seal crucial win

Five things we learned: Two goals in the space of three minutes saw Liverpool retain top spot

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Liverpool simply will not go away

A repeat of that game at the tail end of 2013-14 campaign appeared possible when Chelsea went into the break largely untroubled. Manchester City winning by two goals at Crystal Palace, just as they did on that day five years ago, was a troubling omen too.

Liverpool, however, simply will not go away. This was a fifth straight win since dropping points at Goodison Park and it came easier than those against Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, with Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah winning it inside three second-half minutes.

It may still not be enough. The ease with which City negotiated their way past Palace suggests that the champions have plenty of gears to move through. It remains the case that unless they slip up, Liverpool will not end their 29-year wait for a domestic league title.

But Klopp’s side are doing everything to stay with them. They return to the top, having played a game more than Guardiola’s men, and they are showing fewer and fewer signs of letting this title challenge collapse.

Top-four race remains tight

This result does not only have a bearing on the title race, of course. The battle for a place in the top four remains tight, with Chelsea remaining just two points inside the Champions League places.

Victory would have taken Maurizio Sarri’s side into third and given them a commanding five-point lead over spluttering Manchester United. Instead, they are likely to travel to Old Trafford on 28 April at risk of being toppled.

Chelsea’s run-in is arguably the most difficult of the top-four contenders, with Watford to visit Stamford Bridge and a trip to Leicester City on the final day. A point or three here would have been invaluable. Instead, United and sixth-placed Arsenal will be looking upwards.

Liverpool avoid falling into 2014 trap

The spectre of 2014 loomed over this game, with its memories of a Liverpool title challenge which buckled under its own weight. There was an expectancy around Anfield that day. A ‘circus’ that Jose Mourinho decided to ruthlessly exploit.

Five years later, there was tension again. There was also a Chelsea side who set out to frustrate their hosts. Of their number, only Eden Hazard failed to contribute with a tackle, interception or clearance in the first half.

Liverpool, though, did not allow themselves to be overcome by either. A team in their position could easily have allowed the first goalless 45 minutes of this game to rattle them. Their response was to all but win the game eight minutes after the re-start.

To be fair, a brief nervy period followed. Perhaps if Hazard finds the bottom left-hand corner rather than the post, this finishes differently. But a sense of control returned for the final 20 minutes - control which was so lacking fives years earlier.

Henderson’s renaissance continues apace

Once the fall guy for whatever went wrong with this team, Jordan Henderson’s mini-renaissance as one of two central midfielder continued here, with his delightful, lifted cross to the far post which allowed Sadio Mané to break the deadlock.

Is the biggest single mistake Klopp has made as Liverpool manager playing Henderson as a ‘No 6’ for two-and-a-half years? Fabinho certainly looks like a better fit in the role and impressed once again, shielding the defence.

Henderson, meanwhile, has returned to being the scurrying, shuttling nuisance of a box-to-box player that he was during the run-in of that failed title challenge under Brendan Rodgers in 2014.

His absence from the Chelsea game through suspension that year was seen as decisive by many, not least Rodgers himself. How fitting, then, that Henderson should be the one to force the opening here.

Rudiger injury will worry Chelsea

For Chelsea, the defeat is costly, but perhaps not as costly as a first-half injury to Antonio Rudiger. The centre-back attempted to play on but was eventually substituted and Chelsea's defence never looked quite as stable.

Rudiger has been one of their few consistent performers in an out-of-sorts season and his potential absence for the testing run-in to come should worry Sarri and his side’s supporters.

Andreas Christensen came in his place and appeared on edge throughout. Perhaps that is to be expected. Christensen has started just four league games under Sarri this season, with his manager making clear that Rudiger and David Luiz are his preferred pairing.

He now find himself without one of those two at the most critical stage of the season.