Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool: Palace remain winless in seven as Reds claim sixth successive victory
Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace slumped to yet another defeat at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, extending their winless start to the Premier League to a staggering seven games after Arne Slot’s Liverpool picked up all three points courtesy of Diogo Jota.
The Portuguese forward capitalised on shoddy defending from the hosts to turn home Cody Gakpo’s cross, but despite a sixth successive victory for the Reds, there was cause for concern late on as Alisson was withdrawn with an apparent hamstring injury.
The visitors were able to see out the result with Vitezslav Jaros between the sticks, but navigating a tricky spell of games that will see them face Chelsea, Leipzig, Arsenal and Brighton before the end of the month may prove difficult without their first-choice goalkeeper.
As it happened
Keen to build upon the positive momentum built during their midweek victory over Bologna in the newly-reformed UEFA Champions League, Liverpool wasted no time opening the scoring in South London on Saturday.
Kostas Tsimikas did well to pick out Cody Gakpo on the left flank, allowing the Dutchman to slide a low ball into the box that was met with precision by Diogo Jota and steered home with aplomb to hand the visitors the advantage.
Despite appearing second-best for the majority of the first half, Crystal Palace were almost afforded an excellent chance to equalise before the break when Tsimikas appeared to have handled the ball inside the area. VAR judged the Greek defender’s hand to be in a natural position though, with Liverpool able to maintain their slender advantage at the interval.
Ten minutes into the second half, Dean Henderson was put under immense pressure as Trent Alexander-Arnold attempted a fierce low effort from the byline after being played in by Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian was the next to test the Palace shot-stopper, who produced a fine save to deny the Liverpool forward.
The hosts forced chances of their own in the second half, with Alisson called upon after his side were caught in possession. Gakpo surrendered possession, allowing Jean-Philippe Mateta to send Eddie Nketiah through on goal. The save didn’t require all too much effort from the goalkeeper though, with the shot directed almost straight at him.
With a little over ten minutes left to play at Selhurst Park, an enforced change saw Alisson leave the field to be replaced by debutant Vitezslav Jaros after seemingly straining his hamstring while making a clearance.
The Czech goalkeeper wasn’t tested all too much, and when Palace did find themselves in a position to trouble the 23-year-old, Eze’s effort was blasted straight at the former Slavia Praha academy prospect.
Victory in the capital sent Liverpool four points clear at the top of the table ahead of the afternoon action, though Manchester City and Arsenal have since reduced that lead to just a single point after their respective victories over Fulham and Southampton.