Liverpool’s players overcame an unexpected test of their English Premier League title credentials against last-placed Sheffield United. Manchester United, meanwhile, went into meltdown at Chelsea.

This was the latest reminder of the gulf that separates English football’s fiercest rivals ahead of their clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Liverpool are back on top after a 3-1 win against Sheffield United, while Manchester United conceded two goals in stoppage time in a stunning 4-3 loss at Chelsea.

Liverpool’s win further demonstrated the resolve of Juergen Klopp’s team and the growing influence of Alexis Mac Allister, whose stunning second-half strike set up victory.

Anfield erupted as the Argentina international unleashed an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box that crashed into the top corner in the 76th minute.

The atmosphere had been getting increasingly tense before that with the game locked at 1-1. Substitute Cody Gakpo added a third for Liverpool in the 90th to make the win look more routine than it was.

“We had to dig very deep, but that is normal. Our attitude was good, the football was not great in a lot of moments,” Klopp said.

While Liverpool could be knocked off the top again by the time they head to United on Sunday, the Merseyside club keeps on coming up with the answers as it stares down the challenge of Arsenal and Manchester City.

Liverpool’s win moved it two points clear of second-placed Arsenal and three ahead of City in third, but Sheffield United had threatened to spring a surprise in the race for the title.

Up until Mac Allister’s strike it had looked like being a potentially frustrating night at Anfield after Conor Bradley’s own goal had evened the game at 1-1 — canceling out Darwin Nunez’s opener.

Mac Allister’s long-range strike restored the lead and lifted the mood before Gakpo made it 3-1 with a header.

“Patience is the most important thing,” Gakpo said.

Pep’s focus

Manchester City head into Saturday’s clash at Crystal Palace three points off top spot but boss Pep Guardiola said his side’s total focus remained on winning their last eight games rather than waiting for their rivals to slip up.

City’s remaining league fixtures include Luton Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton, Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham and West Ham United.

“The quality of the opponents is what it is,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. “That’s why we have to keep going, and then at the end we’ll realise the team was there.

“If we don’t do our job, it doesn’t solve the problem. We have to win our last eight games left and wait. If it happens, it’s better, but we cannot control it.

“We control our destiny in our own games, that’s all.”

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were left out of the side in the 4-1 home win against Aston Villa on Wednesday, and Guardiola said that he had not yet decided whether they would make a return to the starting lineup against Palace.