5 TALKING POINTS FROM LIVERPOOL'S 1-2 WIN OVER CRYSTAL PALACE
Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League, temporarily at least, after sealing a dramatic 2-1 win away at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Competing in their second Premier League match in four days, the Reds made a lacklustre start at Selhurst Park and needed luck on their side in the first half.
First, Alisson brilliantly denied Jefferson Lerma, then a VAR review belatedly overturned a penalty decision for Palace after a foul on Wataru Endo in the buildup.
The sluggish pace persisted into the second half, resulting in Palace earning a penalty for real this time in the 55th minute due to a careless foul by Jarell Quansah. Jean-Philippe Mateta capitalised, putting the Londoners in the lead.
Everything shifted dramatically in the 75th minute, though, when Jordan Ayew received his second yellow card and Roy Hodgson's side went down to ten men.
Within a minute of Ayew's dismissal, the game transformed. Mohamed Salah netted his 200th goal for Liverpool, thanks to a huge deflection off Nathaniel Clyne, setting the stage for an intense finish.
Then, during ten minutes of added time, substitute Harvey Elliott seized an opportunity on the edge of the box and fired in the winning goal, sealing a remarkable comeback.
These are the main talking points from the game.
1) Good to have Alisson back
No matter how good your backup is, when you have a world-class player like Alisson in your team, you’re always going to miss them.
The Brazilian made a world-class save with the score level at 0-0. He palmed Jefferson Lerma’s point-blank shot after 26 minutes onto the post and did well to save Jeffrey Schlupp’s skidding effort at the second attempt early in the second half.
Then, with the Reds hanging onto their lead deep into stoppage time, Alisson was there again, reacting quickest to prevent Joachim Andersen's header creeping in low at his near post.
Let's hope we don't have to do without him again any time soon.
2) Elliott, an excellent option
Harvey Elliott isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the 20-year-old is having an excellent impact this season - even if not as a starter.
The youngster was only on the field for 20 minutes, but made a massive impact. He showed great energy and endeavour and was rewarded by scoring the winning goal.
That's a goal and two assists in the Premier League now. Not bad for someone yet to play more than 45 minutes in the league.
3) What took so long?
Will Hughes’ first-half foul on Wataru Endo seemed incredibly obvious to everyone. Without even touching the ball, the Palace man went through the back of the Japan captain before feeding in Odsonne Edouard who was brought down for a penalty by Virgil van Dijk.
Quite why referee Andy Madley needed to watch it back what seemed like 50 times before making his decision is mind-boggling.
But at least we’re not talking about VAR errors again today, eh?
4) 200 goals and counting
Mohamed Salah was completely anonymous for the first hour of the game and there was a strong case mounting for subbing him off.
However, Jurgen Klopp resisted the temptation and showed again why he knows best. The Egyptian was there when his team most needed it to equalise moments after Ayew’s red card with his 200th goal for Liverpool.
He also managed to pop up with an assist for Elliott’s winner. What a player.
5) Squad depth running thin
It’s that period of the year when squad depth becomes crucial. Klopp made five changes to the team that beat Sheffield United on Wednesday and the players looked like strangers to each other at times for much of the opening hour.
With recent injuries to Joel Matip, Alexis Mac Allister and Diogo Jota, the Reds’ squad depth is really being put to the test now.
A lot was expected of Wataru Endo and Jarell Quansah today, and both struggled. If Klopp has any aspirations of maintaining a title push, surely the Reds have to think about recruiting a holding midfielder and a centre-back in January.