Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool: Premier League highlights and recap

Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday, March 31. Here are all the highlights from the Premier League match.

Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday, second-half goals from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah canceling out Luka Milivojevic’s early penalty. It was a frantic, often scrappy match the Reds were lucky to win, but the three points keep them well on track for a top-four finish.

Palace have had some success against the big sides at home this season, beating Chelsea and almost ending Manchester City’s unbeaten streak. They seemed to take confidence from that record, combining a low block with moments of high pressing in the first. The result was a low-quality but highly entertaining contest.

The Eagles opened the scoring after only 12 minutes, Milivojevic slotting past Loris Karius from the penalty spot after the Liverpool keeper brought down Wilfried Zaha. The foul came after Zaha got in behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had similar difficulty tracking Marcus Rashford’s out-to-in runs earlier this month.

Liverpool started well in the second half, and equalized within five minutes of the restart when Mane turned in James Milner’s cross at the near post. It was a nice move by the Reds, but Jurgen Klopp would have been disappointed it had taken his side so long to get a clear sight of goal, and even more disappointed with their reaction to equalizing.

Palace were the better side for the 20 minutes or so, their best chances falling to Christian Benteke in the 58th and 59th minutes, but the Belgian fluffed his lines on both occasions, a familiar sight this season for a player who has scored only two goals in 25 matches in the league.

Liverpool began to regain some control in the last 10 minutes, following a switch to a back three when Dejan Lovren replaced the injured Adam Lallana, who had replaced Georginio Wijnaldum only minutes earlier. They took the lead in the 85th minute, Salah stabbing in his 29th league goal of the season after a lovely first touch to control Andy Robertson’s cross.

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Highlights

Liverpool move up to second with the win, at least until Manchester United play Swansea. Palace are 16th, two points above 18th-place Southampton and three above 19th-place Stoke. They could end the weekend in the relegation zone if Saints beat West Ham at the London Stadium later in the day.