Jota's header earned the three points but it was a struggle in the rain for Juergen Klopp's side who looked uneasy at the back without the injured Virgil van Dijk.
City were due to open their season against Aston Villa and United against Burnley but those games will be moved.
Liverpool battled to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Hull City on Saturday to keep the pressure on Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League. Chelsea maintained third place on 71 points with a low-key 1-0 victory at West Ham United courtesy of Salomon Kalou's goal.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
A round-up of Sunday night's matches in the Premier League.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League
Chelsea maintained the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United on Saturday when another Frank Lampard special gave the champions a 1-0 win at strugglers Charlton Athletic.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Shane Filan, one of the main leads of the popular 1990s Irish boyband Westlife, was in the stands at Old Trafford, watching his favourite club Manchester United held to a 2-2 draw by Tottenham Hotspur.
Klopp said he was not surprised by the levels which his team continue to produce during a Premier League season in which they have yet to lose.
England begin their World Cup group campaign against Iran on November 21.
While England boast a formidable attacking threat, there are concerns about their defence which is perhaps why Southgate is prepared to look at new candidates before he has to make his final call for the tournament.
In other ties, Serie A champions Juventus face Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Barcelona take on Olympique Lyonnais.
Liverpool pipped Manchester United to top spot in an all-time league table dating back to the start of EPL
Liverpool were dramatically dumped out of the FA Cup when Reading came from behind to earn a 2-1 win after extra time in their third-round replay at Anfield on Wednesday. The Championship (second division) strugglers emulated League One Leeds United's epic 1-0 victory at Manchester United to set up a fourth-round tie at Premier League Burnley.
Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick as Liverpool maintained their stunning recent form by crushing Aston Villa 5-0 at Anfield on Sunday to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester United to just one point.
Salah back in Liverpool squad but may not be risked at Genk, says Klopp
Inspirational manager Juergen Klopp has rekindled the Anfield flame though and delivered the club's 19th top-flight title, one behind arch-rivals United's record of 20, after finishing runners-up to City in a thrilling race last season.
Manchester City's Abu Dhabi-controlled owner has agreed to sell a $500 million stake to US private equity firm Silver Lake, making it the world's most valuable soccer group with a $4.8 billion price tag.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City will play Borussia Dortmund with the winners to face either Bayern or PSG in the semi-finals.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United celebrated the festive season with victories on Friday while Arsenal, the other member of the 'big four', squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Aston Villa. Liverpool beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at Anfield with Robbie Keane scoring twice to give the leaders 42 points, one ahead of Chelsea as the Premier League season reached the halfway point.
Manchester United survived a tense finale to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Sunday and close to within 11 points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The Champions League quarter-final between Liverpool and Manchester City is one of the most anticipated games of the season pitting the Premier League's runaway leaders against the top scorers in Europe's elite competition.
Good news was in short supply for Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Saturday as his side were thrashed 4-1 by Liverpool in the International Champions Cup and he confirmed Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic will miss the start of the season.
Manchester City's players and staff do not deserve any performance bonuses that may come their way from this year's Club World Cup, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.
The German coach pipped Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth and last year's winner Chris Wilder of Sheffield United to the Alex Ferguson Trophy -- named after the former Manchester United manager.
Wayne Rooney blasted the rebound past the helpless Simon Mignolet.
Holders Manchester City were eliminated from the League Cup by West Ham United after a penalty shootout at London Stadium on Wednesday, ending Pep Guardiola's team's four-year domination of the competition.
'It was a great atmosphere, I am so pleased for all of the people who have had harder times with us this season'
Liverpool handed their fiercest rivals a painful lesson on Thursday with a dominant 2-0 win over Manchester United in the first leg of a Europa League last-16 clash.
Liverpool have the joint biggest lead in top-flight history at this stage of the campaign and no team has ever failed to win the title with an advantage of this size. Already there is talk of Liverpool going through the league entire season unbeaten -- matching the 'The Invincibles' of Arsenal in 2003/04 and Preston North End in 1888/89.
Liverpool kicked off the new year three points clear atop the English Premier League standings with a 4-2 victory over Newcastle United.
Ronaldo's moments of brilliance, however, are getting ever rarer. Even in the Europa League, where he has started all four matches against mediocre opponents such as Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia Nicosia, he has only scored once, off a penalty.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson stuck the boot into Manchester City ahead of their derby clash at Old Trafford on Sunday by insisting that Liverpool will always be United's biggest rivals.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Nine players from the Premier League have been called up including Ruben Dias, Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Diogo Jota. Goncalo Inacio is the only Sporting player in the squad.
As Chelsea and Manchester United undergo a Premier League title-tussle, a different battle emerges this Sunday when Arsenal visit a Liverpool side aiming to protect their 'big four' status.
Arsenal and Liverpool face each other in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In other last 8 matches, Manchester United play A S Roma, Barcelona meet Germany's Schalke and Chelsea, the fourth English club in the last eight, will play Turkish outsiders Fenerbahce.
Liverpool raised the bar so high and enjoyed such a huge winning margin in claiming the English Premier League title last season it would be churlish to doubt their credentials for a repeat showing.
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