Christian Benteke with a 94th minute penalty
Liverpool saw off Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this afternoon despite spending the majority of the second-half with just 10-men.
The Reds travelled to Palace knowing that it is an unhappy stomping ground for them, stemming from their 3-3 draw with the Eagles during their infamous title collapse.
Alan Pardew’s men also beat Liverpool earlier in the season at Anfield, which was Jurgen Klopp’s first defeat as Reds manager, but the German had the last laugh today thanks to a stoppage time penalty from Christian Benteke.
Summary
It was a fairly quiet first-half, but the hosts came the closest when Emmanuel Adebayor saw his header rebound off the crossbar. Apart from that, chances were few and far between.
However, the second-half made up for the quiet first and it was 1-0 to Palace after just three minutes as Joe Ledley fired home past Simon Mignolet.
Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool when James Milner was sent off for a second-bookable offence, but if anything, the dismissal only spurred the visitors on.
They found themselves level just 10-minutes after Milner’s dismissal as Alex McCarthy’s attempted clearance fell straight to Roberto Firmino, who ran through one-on-one and calmly slotted home.
It was a horrific error from the ‘keeper and it pretty much summed up Palace’s luck as of late.
Liverpool nearly won it with Alberto Moreno striking the inside of the post from long-range, but eventually they did secure the three points with the last meaningful kick of the game.
In the 94th-minute, Benteke was brought down in the box by Damien Delaney and the Belgian stepped up to cooly slot home.
Palace still continue to struggle despite having the lead and having the extra man, whilst Liverpool make it two wins in five days.
Match Reaction
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp speaks to Sky Sports about his changes after the red card: “We changed to 3-4-2. That’s what we tried, a little bit risky. Dejan Lovren had to be the right back and centre half. You can try but the rest is passion. For defence you always need more passion than formation.
“We brought on Kolo Toure to save the result at the end but you take what you can get. We had moments to score but now everything is OK. Football is like this. You make a plan at the end but the lads did great. This is the third league win in a row, I can’t believe how it feels, really good, a big moment for us.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp speaking to Sky Sports: “I’m pretty happy. It was well deserved. We played well in that second-half against a well-rested team.
“First-half we started okay but forgot to shoot on the goal. But what we did in the end was brilliant.
“I feel sorry for Palace but I have just seen the replay [of the penalty decision]Â in the dressing room and it was a clear penalty. If there was no contact, Benteke would have been in a great position to shoot.”
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren on Sky Sports:Â “It was an incredible performance from all of us, especially after the red card. We stepped up and showed our skills and character. This is a lift for everyone of us. It’s good for confidence and we need to continue like this.”
Liverpool striker Christian Benteke on the penalty he won in injury time: “I think he touched me otherwise I don’t go down. The referee knows better than us and he took the right decision. You have to be ready when the manager needs you and I tried to do my best today.
“I believe in myself and I am going to fight until the end, I have no doubt about it.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
