Manager Jurgen Klopp says he has no problem that Liverpool was not brilliant. The club emerged with a 2-1 after their hard-fought win against Crystal Palace.
The Reds maintained their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League despite the “tough” match with Crystal Palace.
Roberto Firmino poked in from a corner to restore his side’s lead three minutes after it looked as if Wilfred Zaha had rescued a point for the Eagles.
Zaha’s 82nd-minute goal was his first of the season.
However, the Palace winger also wasted a great chance late on to score a second equalizer. He blazed over from close range.
Klopp said, “We know it’s a tough place to come to and we weren’t compact enough in the first half. In a game like this, you have to make sure you are ready to fight for the result,”
“We are not out there to show that we invented football, because we didn’t. we have a job to do and hopefully, we can continue.”
Liverpool has now gone 30 games unbeaten in the Premier League. Additionally, the Reds have dropped only two points in the league all season.
Firmino underlines Liverpool resilience
With Klopp deciding to keep Salah on the bench following an ankle injury, Firmino’s timing was immaculate.
Not only did it end his run of nine games without a goal but also meant Klopp could change his intention to throw Salah onto the pitch to held his side fins a winner.
Late goals are becoming a trademark of Liverpool’s season. However, the winner should not have come as a surprise given the league leaders have claimed more points with goals after the 85th minute than any other Premier League team this term.
Following an international break, the Reds demonstrated their resilience. They came under fire from a Palace side who tested Alisson on several occasions and should have opened the scoring when Ayew skewed wide with a first-half chance.
The visitors were however far from their best with Trent Alexander having an erratic day and Palace winger Zaha and Andros Townsend regularly causing the visiting defense problems.
But with Virgil van Dijk typically solid, Mane continued his incredible scoring run against Palace with his eighth goal in 10 league games against the Eagles.
That was before Firmino, who had a relatively quiet game, proved his value with a fourth goal of the season to earn a fifth successive win over Palace.