Liverpool recorded a comfortable win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, continuing their strong start to the 2024/25 campaign.

Diogo Jota earned the only goal of the game as he marked his 100th start for the Reds. The visitors cruised to victory over Palace, who were lucky to only concede one against Arne Slot’s side.

How the game unfolded

Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze took the first kick of the game and from the offset the action began.

Eddie Nketiah, desperate to end his side’s winless start to the league, cruised through Liverpool’s backline with ease before firing a ball into the back of the net. His strike was quickly ruled offside but it certainly upped the tempo as the Reds dug deep to prove themselves the dominant side in south London.

Minutes later, Jota marked his 100th Liverpool start by gifting his side a lead. The forward responded well to a perfect low ball from Cody Gakpo to outsmart Trevoh Chalobah and send a shot past Dean Henderson.

The chances came thick and fast for the visitors soon after, with Mohamed Salah just missing out on the opportunity to assist a clever strike as his cross for Alexis Mac Allister proved to be just out of reach for the Argentinian.

Palace were forced into an early substitution ahead of the 20 minute mark as Daniel Munoz fell to the ground before receiving treatment on the pitch. Nathaniel Clyne came on in his place, altering Palace’s midfield and causing worry among the Eagles fans.

As the clock continued, Liverpool’s counter press seemed too tough for Palace to compete with, as the hosts struggled to keep the ball long enough to generate any attacking play.

Their first real chance of the game arrived just before half-time as Ismaila Sarr came close to marking his first Palace start with a goal. His effort flew towards the bottom left corner of the goal but Alisson was able to prevent the hosts from equalising, picking up the ball before any further attempts could be made.

On the hour mark, Liverpool came close to earning their second of the game thanks to a free-kick into the box from Trent Alexander-Arnold. His shot flew towards Jota, who made contact with his head but was unable to demonstrate enough power to score.

Liverpool shot-stopper Alisson was forced to leave the pitch late in the game after suffering a blow, welcoming Vitezslav Jaros on in his place as Palace fought desperately to get something past the fresh keeper.

Palace thought their dreams had finally come true when Will Hughes won possession to offer his side a chance. The ball fell to Eze on the left, who shot towards the box but in landed in the hands of Jaros.

It was all over for the Eagles before the whistle blew, leaving them searching for their first Premier League win yet again.

GK: Dean Henderson – 6/10 – Liverpool could have scored more but Henderson put a stop to any later attempts from the Anfield side. Was kept busy between the sticks while his defenders struggled.

CB: Trevoh Chalobah – 5/10 – Chalobah struggled to make much of an impact on his debut appearance for the Eagles. He was tested by Liverpool’s intense pressing and was unable to put a stop to Jota’s opening goal.

CB: Maxence Lacroix – 6/10 – Took some time to grow into the game but put in a good showing once he was involved. His skills are becoming more and more appreciated by the Palace fanbase.

CB: Marc Guehi – 5/10 – An uncharacteristically poor appearance from the England international who often seemed dazed on the pitch and unable to control his area. Guehi was caught ball watching on numerous occasions when his team needed him to step up.

RM: Daniel Munoz – 5/10 – A usually reliable character in midfield, Munoz was forced off in the opening 20 minutes of the clash after suffering a knock. Palace fans will hope for a quick return.

CM: Adam Wharton – 4/10 – Another midfielder who was caught out by Liverpool’s attack, Wharton could have been accused of putting in a blatant lazy performance. The youngster was lost on the pitch and had no idea how to help his team.

CM: Jefferson Lerma – 6/10 – Lerma had a much more impressive outing than his midfield counterparts, impressing against tough opponents.

LM: Tyrick Mitchell – 6/10 – A strong performance from Mitchell, who made light work of taking on his opponent in tough situations.

AM: Ismaila Sarr – 6/10 – Sarr worked hard on his first start for Palace, chasing down the pitch to create chances. He was unfortunate not to earn a goal after his strong shot towards the Liverpool box, but still made an impact on his side’s progressive play.

AM: Ebere Eze – 6/10 – Oliver Glasner relied on Eze to create chances for his side, but the Palace star struggled to deal with Liverpool’s press and found it hard to break through their dominant back four. His intentions to play possession-based football went out of the window against a strong Anfield team.

ST: Eddie Nketiah – 6/10 – The former Arsenal man charged into action in the opening second of the game, but was otherwise quiet in front of goal. He was simply no match for the likes of Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool’s defence and received hardly any promising balls from his teammates.

Substitutes

SUB: Nathaniel Clyne (17′ for Munoz) – 5/10

SUB: Will Hughes (60′ for Wharton) – 6/10

SUB: Jean-Philippe Mateta (60′ for Mitchell) – 6/10

SUB: Daichi Kamada (88′ for Chalobah) – N/A

Subs not used: Matt Turner (GK), Joel Ward, Caleb Kporha, Franco Umeh-Chibueze, Jeffrey Schlupp.

Manager

Oliver Glasner – 4/10 – Glasner cannot inject the life into Palace that he did so well last season. He is still waiting for his first win of the campaign, despite deploying a change of squad.

GK: Alisson Becker – 6/10 – Alisson did well to stop Sarr from equalising before the break but was quite untested in Liverpool’s box other than that. Left the pitch during the latter stages of the game after facing a blow but impressed while he was fit.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10 – As usual, an impressive performance from the England defender who forced himself into all the right places at the right times. He made some heroic passes, offering his services in both attacking and defensive play.

CB: Ibrahima Konate – 7/10 – Konate was simply unstoppable, once again appearing to be every attacking player’s nightmare. His work rate against Palace was immense, blocking any potential threat from the Eagles while refusing to let them keep any form of possession.

CB: Virgil van Dijk – 8/10 – An absolute tank in defence, Van Dijk demonstrated a classy performance at Selhurst Park. Calm, composed, yet dangerous, there was nothing Palace could do to threaten the Dutchman.

LB: Konstantinos Tsimikas – 6/10 – Tsimikas unleashed arguably one of his best Liverpool performances, making a series of impressive passes and unlocking a confident side to his game.

CM: Ryan Gravenberch – 7/10 – Gravenberch was unplayable, placing himself at the heart of all of Liverpool’s positive play. He made sure he was always in the right spots when play switched directions and worked with the ball when he was in possession.

CM: Alexis Mac Allister – 6/10 – Played with class and elegance during the first half, but was removed from the game on the break to freshen up the Reds’ midfield. Couldn’t force a goal from Salah’s early assist.

RM: Mohamed Salah – 6/10 – Utilised his energy on the pitch to drive play forward for Liverpool but was unable to capitalise with either a goal or an assist. Fantasy Premier League players will not be happy if they captained the Anfield man.

AM: Curtis Jones – 5/10 – A quieter performance from Jones who found it tough to stand out among his team’s talent. It was far from a bad outing for the midfielder, but simply a quiet one.

LM: Cody Gakpo – 6/10 – A mixed bag from Gakpo against Palace. He worked hard but selfishly kept hold of the ball when chances could have arrived for his teammates. Less shooting and more passing was needed from the Dutchman.

ST: Diogo Jota – 7/10 – Marked his 100th Liverpool start with a beautiful goal in the opening minutes of the game. Jota has been directly involved in 13 goals in his last 14 Premier League starts and once again he proved vital for the Merseyside club.

Substitutes

SUB: Dominik Szoboszlai (45′ for Mac Allister) – 6/10

SUB: Luis Diaz (73′ for Salah) – 6/10

SUB: Vitezslav Jaros (79′ for Alisson) – 7/10

SUB: Andy Robertson (79′ for Tsimikas) – N/A

SUB: Wataru Endo (89′ for Jones) – N/A

Subs not used: Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Joe Gomez, Darwin Nunez.

Manager

Arne Slot – 8/10 – Not a bad start to life in the Premier League for Slot. Made some interesting changes but ultimately got the job done.

Player of the match – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

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