Liverpool clashed heads with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park earlier today hoping to pick up maximum points on the road. The Reds made a slow start to the game and struggled to create too many openings in the first half. However, the Merseyside outfit came back stronger after the half-time break to finally make the breakthrough via Sadio Mane’s scrappy finish.
The home side refused to give up without a fight and managed to grab the equaliser via Wilfried Zaha’s composed strike in the 82nd minute. But the Ivorian’s goal turned out to be a consolation as the European champions got themselves ahead again just three minutes later via Roberto Firmino’s smart finish from close range. The contest ended with Jurgen Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’ coming away with all three points from South London.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the encounter versus Crystal Palace.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian keeper made a few routine stops to deny the Palace attackers from scoring in the first half. However, he couldn’t do much about Zaha’s strike in the second.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10
The English full-back whipped in some inviting balls into the Eagles penalty area. However, the Liverpool youngster was left exposed at times down the right flank. He struggled to cope with Zaha’s pace on the counter.
CB: Dejan Lovren – 7/10
The Croatia international defended valiantly and did enough to restrict the home side from scoring more than once. He is getting better with each game, much to the delight of the travelling Kopites at the Selhurst.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7.5/10
The Dutch defender oozed class at the heart of the Reds defence as he put in another commanding shift at the back. Van Dijk came to his team’s rescue on quite a few occasions during the game and never looked like he had a mistake in him.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
The Scottish full-back might not be at 100% health, but he still managed to grab an assist when he picked out Mane with an intelligent cross early in the second half.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 7/10
It was another industrious performance from the Liverpool captain. He ran his socks off and distributed the ball accurately from midfield.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian midfield ace made a couple of vital interceptions for the Merseysiders. He was also quite creative with his passing during the game.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6.5/10
The Dutch international got himself involved in the build-up play and kept the ball moving in the opposition half. He should have scored with his late attempt, but his team effort was straight at the Palace keeper.
LM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6/10
The English attacker ran the channels well and provided some width in the final third. However, it was far from an impressive display from him today.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7.5/10
The Brazilian forward stepped up when his team needed him the most and managed to score another late goal for Liverpool. It was scrappy, but Firmino won’t complain as he seized his opportunity and gave maximum points to his side.
RM: Sadio Mane – 8/10
The Senegalese speedster was by far Liverpool’s best hope for a goal during the game. He kept trying until he finally scored with an untidy finish. He was always changing positions with Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain and later, Origi which made life difficult for the Palace defenders.
Substitutes:
LM: Divock Origi – 6/10
The Belgian forward made some darting runs down the left flank, but he was tracked well by the opposition.
CM: James Milner – N/A
He did not have enough time to make an impact.
CB: Joe Gomez – N/A
The English defender came on to run the clock down for the visitors.
