Liverpool and Roberto Firmino scramble to see off Crystal Palace Liverpool may not win the title this season but they continue to play like champions – not necessarily in terms of performance, for this was another unconvincing showing away from home by Jürgen Klopp’s men, but undeniably in their refusal to give up on victory.
Time was running out and this game appeared set to end in a 1-1 draw after Wilfried Zaha equalised for Crystal Palace in the 82nd minute. The hosts had been the better side and did not deserve to have fallen behind to Sadio Mané’s goal just after the break. They had also been somewhat harshly denied a first-half lead after VAR intervened to rule out a header by James Tomkins. Justice, therefore, appeared to be done. But with five minutes left Liverpool did what they so often do: score late. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner was not cleared by a gang of Palace players and, as the ball spilled free, Roberto Firmino was on hand to send it into the net.
It is now 30 league games without defeat for Liverpool, who remain eight points clear of the chasing pack. But as the leaders returned to Merseyside on Saturday night they may well have reflected on how they did here. For they were ragged at the back, lacklustre in midfield and disjointed in attack. Mohamed Salah’s absence was undeniably a factor in regards to the latter – the Egyptian was an unused substitute having failed to recover from an ankle injury – but not in other regards. A wider concern should be how this contest felt so similar to Liverpool’s previous three on the road, at Sheffield United, Manchester United and Aston Villa. On each occasion Klopp’s men were below par and on each occasion they just about rescued the situation.
Not that the German was overly concerned, making the point that, while his team were “not brilliant” here, there were mitigating circumstances – namely the late return of some of his players from international duty – and that, overall, they did well.
“I’m not surprised it was a tough game,” he said. “Our other games against Palace since I’ve been in England have been similar. In a game like this you have to make sure you fight for the result and that is what we did. Could we play better? Yes, but 37 points after 13 matches is exceptional.”
That much is true and, for sure, there is no denying the spirit Liverpool yet again showed against arguably their toughest opponents of the season. Palace were well organised and aggressive out of possession and, when they had it, looked to stretch the visitors, with Zaha and Andros Townsend menaces on each wing.
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