Conor Bradley stars as leaders Liverpool thrash Chelsea.

Liverpool retained their advantage at the top of the Premier League table with a dominant 4-1 win over Chelsea at Anfield.

Diogo Jota opened the scoring with a solo effort before Conor Bradley scored his first senior goal for Liverpool to leave Chelsea behind at the break for the first time in the Premier League this season.

Darwin Nunez hit the post with a penalty before the half was over, one of four occasions on which he struck the woodwork – the most on record in a Premier League game.

Christopher Nkunku pulled one back for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and was very unlucky not to be awarded a penalty soon after but Luis Diaz ended any hope of a comeback with the fourth.

The result sees Chelsea stay 10th in the table, their best hope of a successful season likely to come in the Carabao Cup final next month. Unfortunately for them, their opponents at Wembley will be this in-form Liverpool – still five points clear at the top.

Chelsea had the first of their penalty claims in the early stages when Virgil van Dijk checked the run of Conor Gallagher inside the box but that was anything but indicative of what was to come as Liverpool took complete charge of the contest thereafter.

Nunez had a left-footed shot saved onto the post by Djordje Petrovic but Klopp was celebrating soon after. Jota’s determined solo run saw him dart between Benoit Badiashile and Thiago Silva before slotting home left-footed into the corner.

The Blues had not even mustered a shot when Bradley added a second. Diaz slid him in down the right channel but the young full-back, having got the run on Raheem Sterling, had plenty left to do. His finish was perfect, beyond Petrovic and into the far corner.

If only Nunez was so accurate. It was another boisterous performance by the Uruguayan forward – everything but the goal. When Jota was caught by Badiashile inside the box, Nunez had the chance to make it three but struck the upright instead.

Pochettino made a triple substitution for the second half and it almost paid off instantly when two of the new arrivals combined. Malo Gusto crossed into the path of Mykhailo Mudryk but the winger’s finish was all wrong, stabbing the ball well over the bar.

It was against the run of play because Liverpool did not relent in their pursuit of goals, Nunez racking up the shots. But it was Szoboszlai who found the third, nodding in from close range to convert Bradley’s right-wing cross. The youngster received an ovation when subbed.

Nkunku, the third of the half-time substitutes, found space and a nice finish to score and should surely have won a penalty when Van Dijk kicked his standing foot inside the area but VAR failed to intervene. When Diaz converted Nunez’s cross, Liverpool had it won.

It ends a run of seven consecutive draws between these teams, four of them goalless, and is ominous for Chelsea ahead of that Wembley meeting. With Liverpool still unbeaten at Anfield this season, their form is ominous for their Premier League title rivals too.

Source : skysports