This season’s meetings between the Premier League’s elite sides really have not disappointed. The shock that was Leicester romping to the title in 2015/16 has kicked English football’s ‘big boys’ into gear this term, which has seen a gap emerge between the top six and the rest of the pack.

With, on the whole, this sextuplet coming out on top against the rest the league has to offer, any meetings between them carry an almost palpable tension, which has resulted in some great clashes. Liverpool vs. Chelsea didn’t disappoint on Tuesday night, with the Red and Blue rivals playing out a 1-1 draw at Anfield - Georginio Wijnaldum’s second-half header cancelling out David Luiz’s smart opener.

This is a game that will likely be looked back on as vital come the close of the campaign and here are FIVE things we learnt from this epic bout between Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte…

Chelsea’s title to throw away if they avoid Arsenal loss

We’ll start with the obvious, Chelsea had an excellent night. Even though they technically dropped points at Anfield, Arsenal’s shock home loss against Watford and Spurs’ draw at Sunderland allowed the Blues to extend their buffer to nine points at the top, which really is quite the advantage with 15 games to play.

Granted, the league cannot be won in February, but with Antonio Conte’s side looking so streetwise and having negotiated another tough game against one of their big rivals, it’s hard to see them throwing away many points between now and May. Arsenal await on Saturday, and should they avoid a loss, it will surely see them take, potentially, a decisive step to becoming champions.

Mane return will boost Reds

It took 75 minutes to get him back on the pitch, but the collective sigh of relief could almost be heard from Reds fans as the Senegalese winger trotted from the dugout and over the white line. As we all know, the £30m+ summer signing’s departure to represent his nation at AFCON coincided with an alarming drop-off in form on Merseyside, so there’s a hope that his pace will inject the intensity Jurgen Klopp’s side have lacked in his absence.

There were glimpses of his speed of thought in his brief cameo and his link-up with Roberto Firmino almost proved vital, with the Brazilian having a real chance to nod in a winner from his partner’s chipped pass into the area.

Wing-back weaknesses

Much has been made of Chelsea’s quality across the pitch, and Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso have been lauded for their somewhat surprising effectiveness from the left and right flanks. However, Moses was exposed last night as James Milner directed the ball back across the area for Georginio Wijnaldum’s equaliser, while a similar state of affairs occurred when Dele Alli scored the brace that saw off the Blues when they lost to Spurs – he ghosted in between the Nigerian and Cesar Azpilicueta twice.

There are few weaknesses in this Chelsea team, but diagonal balls and quick shifts from flank-to-flank appear to be exposing Moses in particular and may be a route the likes of Arsenal will look to exploit over the coming weeks.

Klopp let himself down

"I went back to the fourth official and said: ‘Sorry – you are the wrong person to speak to. No problem, I like your passion.’ I have never heard that from an official before. That was cool."

Although Klopp has played down his outburst at fourth official Neil Swarbrick after Diego Costa’s penalty was saved by Diego Costa, the site of the German screaming in his face was unedifying. With Arsene Wenger having recently been handed a touchline ban for a spat with officials – granted, this was not quite as bad – the Kop chief was taking a real risk by venting his frustration.

Passion is a cornerstone of Klopp’s approach, but maybe he needs to rein it in for the foreseeable future.

Mignolet under pressure

Okay, Simon Mignolet may have redeemed himself by getting down well to keep Costa’s penalty-kick out in the second-half, he brought up the old debate surrounding his quality when David Luiz opened the scoring from a smart free-kick. There’s a question to be asked as to whether or not he’d have even got to the Brazilian’s effort, which flew in off the post, but his inability to organise his defence and position his wall effectively tempted the defender to have a go from distance, with the most alarming picture (above) showing the Belgian looking the other way as Luiz started his run-up.

This alone is not a huge issue, but with Loris Karius having shown green shoots of recovery in recent cup outings, the pressure may mount on Mignolet if he commits another gaffe.