WITH the last international break out of the way for the calendar year, Crystal Palace and Liverpool fought out an evenly contested match which saw the Merseysiders nick a 2-1 victory in a fashion that is fast becoming their trademark.

The most significant team news surrounded Mo Salah who, having missed his country’s international matches through injury, was named on the bench as Reds manager Jurgen Klopp sought to ease his striker back into action after the Egyptian completed only one full training session in the last two weeks.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was his replacement after enjoying a bout of good form for club and country, scoring for both in recent matches.

Ex-Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson named a Palace line-up which suggested that he would attempt to go toe-to-toe with the unbeaten league leaders with Jordan Ayew, Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha all starting.

Despite Liverpool’s early dominance, it was the home side who created the first clear chance of the game. On 16 minutes, Cheikhou Kouyate found himself picking up the ball 35-yards out and angled a beautiful curling ball into the path of Ayew who looked to prod the ball home with the outside of his boot from 12 yards, but his effort flew wide of Allison’s post.

The visitors first real opportunity came on 18 minutes, when a chipped ball from Fabinho, which cleared the Palace backline, almost found the run of Sadio Mane, but the pace on the ball evaded the Liverpool front man by inches and Vicente Guaita was quick off his line to claim the ball with ease.

The home side were now growing into the game through a combination of grit and elegance on the ball. Townsend was showing touches of brilliance down the right hand side while Zaha was beginning to give Trent Alexander-Arnold a torrid time on the opposite flank with his power, pace and trickery.

On 42 minutes, Crystal Palace thought that they had found the breakthrough. A Luka Milivojevic free-kick found James Tomkins free at the back post via an inadvertent flick on at the front post by Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum. 

The goal was eventually ruled out by VAR for a push in the back on Dejan Lovren by Ayew — not the first time Liverpool have been rescued by VAR this season.

The league leaders did not need another wake-up call and eventually took the lead on 49 minutes when a driving run from the halfway line by Roberto Firmino and eventual pass found the supporting Andrew Robertson in space on the left. 

The Scottish international delivered a first-time meek looking cross into the box which somehow found its way through the middle of three Palace defenders to Mane who controlled, swivelled and hit a left-footed shot towards the bottom corner of the net. 

Guaita did well to get a hand to the shot diving down low to his right, but could only succeed in tipping the ball onto his post, with the ball bouncing back out and spinning back into the goal after hitting the other post.

Both sides had chances throughout the rest of the second half with Milivojevic, Townsend and substitute Jeffrey Schlupp all testing Allison from distance, while a one on one between Firmino and Guaita resulted in the Palace keeper tipping the Brazilian’s effort around the post.

Palace eventually found an equaliser on 82 minutes when Zaha combined down the left with substitute Christian Benteke who found Townsend in the box. 

The Palace winger produced an excellently disguised reverse pass to find the Ivorian winger who had continued his run into the box and dispatched a clinical finish into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Palace looked as though they had earned themselves a well deserved draw but, in reminiscent fashion of Liverpool’s last away game at Aston Villa, Klopp’s men found a late winner through Firmino after the Palace defence failed to clear an Alexander-Arnold corner. 

The ball eventually fell to the feet of the Reds’ No 9 who gobbled up the opportunity and finished low through a sea of bodies and past the despairing dive of Guaita.

There was still time for Hodgson’s men to fashion one last chance to level again through Zaha, but he couldn’t repeat his earlier heroics and blazed high and wide from eight-yards out when he should have scored.

It was a sickening blow for the home side, but the type of victory that the Reds fans are fast becoming accustomed too.