LONDON, England (AP) — Chelsea fought back to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield and strengthen their position at the top of the Premier League table yesterday, while Manchester City twice came from behind to rescue a point against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.

Elsewhere, Manchester United won 1-0 against Crystal Palace, thanks to a goal from Juan Mata and Southampton continued their superb start to the season with a 2-0 win over Leicester.

Defending champion City now trail Chelsea by eight points after 10 games. Chelsea lead the standings with 29 points, with Southampton the nearest challenger with 25.

Manuel Pellegrini’s team fell behind at QPR in the 21st minute, when Charlie Austin converted from Mauricio Isla’s cross. Austin earlier had two goals disallowed, one for offside and one after scoring directly from a mishit free-kick by goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Hart accidently kicked the ball twice before Austin found the net, and rules state a player can’t touch the ball twice successively from a free-kick.

Sergio Aguero equalised after brilliantly controlling a long pass from Eliaquim Mangala, but an own goal from Martin Demichelis in the 76th minute restored QPR’s lead.

Argentina striker Aguero scored again seven minutes later, rounding Robert Green before beating four players on the line attempting to block his shot.

At Anfield, Brendan Rodgers made seven changes from the Liverpool side that lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

His midweek selection was criticised as he appeared to prioritise the clash against Chelsea, but Liverpool went ahead in the seventh minute through Emre Can’s long-range strike, which took a deflection off Gary Cahill on its way to goal.

But the lead lasted only five minutes, before Chelsea equalised from a corner.

Captain John Terry powered a header toward goal, but ‘keeper Simon Mignolet got across brilliantly to palm it out, before Cahill blasted the rebound back into him from close range.

Initially, it appeared Mignolet had made a superb reaction block as he fell backwards, but goal-line technology showed the ball had just crossed the line as it hit the Liverpool goalkeeper.

Diego Costa then put Chelsea ahead in the 67th minute, pouncing upon the rebound from Cesar Azpilicueta’s shot and drilling the ball past Can’s last-ditch challenge.

Elsewhere, Manchester United earned a much-needed three points with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford with Juan Mata’s second-half strike.

Mata replaced Adnan Januzaj in the 63rd minute and scored four minutes later, his deflected shot beating Palace keeper Julian Speroni.

But it was another underwhelming performance from Louis van Gaal’s team, who started with a makeshift defence that had midfielder Daley Blind and 19-year-old Paddy McNair in the centre with four alternative options out injured or suspended.

The victory, United’s first in four, sees them overtake rival Liverpool and move up to sixth in the table.

Southampton continued their formidable start to the season with a hard-fought 2-0 win against Leicester at St Mary’s, thanks to two goals in five minutes from Shane Long.

The Ireland striker, a substitute for Sadio Mane who had replaced him in the starting line-up, entered the game without a Premier League goal for Southampton since his offseason transfer from West Brom.

But he broke the deadlock in the 75th, curling a neat left-footed strike beyond Kasper Schmeichal, before finishing clinically against the Leicester goalkeeper in the 80th.