by A porous, tetachy football game; two disputed penalty decisions; isolated equalizer; whole minutes of aimless waiting while a man in shorts watches a small screen. And then, finally, a moment of friendship that this game did not deserve and Liverpool barely did. It came from Harvey Elliott, as he slipped through the Crystal Palace defense like a man dancing on a lily pad, scoring the injury time goal that earned Liverpool another injury and three points. It is likely, almost imperceptibly, that they are now top of the Premier League, following Arsenal’s victory at Aston Villa.
And in the end, the only thing that ended up being “ruined” was Roy Hodgson’s day. After being forced to apologize for his comments in midweek that Palace fans needed to be more grateful, this was the fixture that perfectly suited his browbeaten underdog persona. Palace did almost everything here: frustrated, defended tightly, scored on the break. Until Jordan Ayew was shown a soft second yellow card with 15 minutes remaining, they were well worth a famous win.
Related: ‘I’m absolutely sick’: Roy Hodgson hits out at the state of the law and the referee
But Ayew’s dismissal managed to change the game, more pressure was put on Liverpool, it just opened up a little more space for them to work. Mohamed Salah equalized soon after, Jürgen Klopp’s substitutes were ruthless and proactive, Elliott grabbed the points beautifully late on, and yet they still relied on goalkeeper Alisson’s heroics in the 100th minute to seal their win . Liverpool’s two goals came from their two shots on target.
And, of course, there is still plenty of room for improvement from a team that fancies itself potential champions. For some reason – maybe it was fatigue and travel and dissatisfaction and a fusilli breakfast – it was all fun from now on. The level of physical commitment was still okay, but the lack of creative spark was a concern. In fact, only three entries in my notes from the first half hour have disappeared at all.
Quansah – a little nervous.
Ayew: smart player! Great understanding of angles and weight distribution. Alan McManus out of football?
If Darwin’s theory is true, why didn’t he develop a way to stay inside?
So, yeah: not great stuff, by any standards. And 20-year-old Jarell Quansah looked sharp at center half, but he was by no means alone. Palace were awarded a penalty, and then they weren’t: Virgil van Dijk clumsily brought in Odsonne Édouard from behind, only for VAR to overturn Will Hughes’ earlier foul decision. On the touchline, Hodgson unloaded a big mouthful of spit on his technical area. It was such a game.
Klopp kept trying to change things, moving his pieces around the table. Salah went up top for a while and Darwin Núñez went wide. Trent Alexander-Arnold came on at half-time, replacing the soggy Wataru Endo. Quansah and Ryan Gravenberch were gone before the hour mark, although not before Quansah took the penalty from which Jean-Philippe Mateta put Palace ahead: a desperate tap on the ankle as both tried to clear a cross from Hughes.
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But in the end Liverpool only had more tools in their bag. Cody Gakpo and Joe Gomez formed an effective partnership on the right; Elliott and Curtis Jones offered fresh legs in midfield. Salah grabbed his 200th Liverpool goal, a curling shot from close range after Michael Olise failed to deal with Gakpo’s cross, and as the minutes ticked away it felt like a point would be their limit ambitions. But then came Elliott, receiving the ball from Salah and coming straight and clear in the melee.
You had to feel a little for Palace, who showed a lot of resolve and fight in the midst of poor form, rotten luck with injuries and a growing disconnect between the club and its supporters. Their physicality earned them seven yellow cards, plus one for Hodgson himself, but they probably should have gone ahead early on through Jefferson Lerma and could have even benefited from a late equalizer through Joachim Andersen. Instead, they have gone further behind: no points, a suspension for Ayew and worrying injuries for Lerma, Édouard and Sam Johnstone.
Somehow, meanwhile, Liverpool have nine points from their last three games. It was a hell of a fight, one that will feel more like a grueling military campaign than a sporting event. Still they rolled on. Manchester United will follow up Thursday’s Europa League dead rubber at Anfield next Sunday: a potential turning point in a season that could be about to fly, if it fits and starts.
