Liverpool beat a resilient and rigid Crystal Palace side by two goals to nil courtesy of a James Milner penalty and a Sadio Mane break-away goal right at the very end.
Selhurst Park is never an easy place to visit because of the amazing atmosphere and home support, more so for Liverpool. Crystal Palace has been the “bogey side” for Liverpool in the past few years. Liverpool were without Dejan Lovren who had been ruled out because of an injury.
There were no surprises in the line ups as Liverpool went unchanged after their hammering of the “hammers” from the previous week. Joe Gomez partnered Van Dijk in the heart of the defence. Milner started again after his man-of-the-match performance against West Ham. Fabinho is still not ready to start and needs time to adapt to Klopp’s tactics. Liverpool’s front three rared to go again with Keita providing the extra edge from midfield.
Crystal Palace lined up in a 4-4-2 with Zaha and Benteke upfront. Milivojevic and McArthur were tasked to contain the fluid Liverpool counter-attacks.
First Half
The game was never set to be cagy. Crystal Palace’s game plan was to hit Liverpool on the counter as they looked for Zaha and Benteke every time they managed to knick the ball off the Liverpool midfielders.
Palace defended in a narrow 4-4-2 without the ball and allowed Liverpool to bomb their box with crosses. Palace looked well equipped to handle the crosses as Schlupp and Townsend tucked into the half spaces everytime Robertson or Alexander Arnold got onto the ball.
Mane had a goal disallowed after he had clattered into Hennessey and forced him to spill the ball. On the other side, Townsend came the closest when his curling effort from 25 yards out crashed against the crossbar.
Keita ran the show with his interceptions and distribution. Even though he gave away the ball cheaply a couple of times, his link up play with the front 3 looked sublime. He often surged with the ball drawing Tomkins towards him which allowed space to Mane and Firmino.
Both teams were heading towards a goalless first half until perhaps the final attack. Alexander Arnold squared the ball to Salah where he was being held up by Sakho. Salah dropped a shoulder and drew the foul which he would’ve been looking for in that situation. Sakho clipped his heel and Milner converted the resulting penalty emphatically.
Second Half
Second half started with both teams unchanged. The home side looked more aggressive in attack now as the fans cheered every single pass and tackle. Zaha wriggled through a couple of challenged before he was brought down by Alexander Arnold which earned the England international a yellow card.
Allisson saved wonderfully from the resulting free kick which looked destined for the top corner. Liverpool were still dominating possession with Crystal Palace getting all their chances on the counter.
Henderson came off the bench in place of Milner who once again had a very solid outing. Palace were knocking the ball around when Milivojevic’s flighted ball was cleared and Liverpool had an excellent opportunity through Salah.
He ran through on goal before he was brought down by Wan-Bissaka just outside the penalty area. Michael Oliver showed a straight red to the right back which he definitely deserved for his tackle from behind. Even though Liverpool couldn’t convert the resulting freekick, they were now a goal and a man up.
There was a penalty shout for Crystal Palace in the 84th minute after McArthur was brought down. The referee adjudged Wijnaldum’s challenge to be fair and the play went on.
Palace committed more men forward after the fourth official signaled for 4 extra minutes. Liverpool however doubled their lead in the last minute. Palace had a corner which was cleared to Salah. Salah found the run of Mane who comfortably rounded the keeper for his 3rd goal of the season.
Even though, the scoreline shows a comfortable win, it wasn’t all easy going for Liverpool. Palace had some moments of their own but Liverpool were definitely the deserving side.
It was a strong showing from the Liverpool midfield and Allisson’s distribution looked really good as well. Mane was especially electric throughout the match, but Firmino looked unusually pretty quiet.
Liverpool go second with this win, behind Man City on goal difference.
