Liverpool march on despite Alisson injury as Arne Slot’s rotation pays off – 5 talking points

CRYSTAL PALACE 0-1 LIVERPOOL: Diogo Jota’s first-half goal won Liverpool all three points away at Crystal Palace, but the Reds lost goalkeeper Alisson to injury.

Liverpool extended their good start to the season on Saturday, defeating Crystal Palace with an early goal from Diogo Jota to remain Premier League leaders heading into the international break.

Eddie Nketiah had the ball in the net inside 30 seconds, but the offside flag went up to deny the Palace attacker. Liverpool’s slow start was short-lived, as Jota finished off a quick attack to give the Reds a ninth-minute lead.

Jota will believe he should have had a second just after the half-hour mark, having shown superb movement to create space to meet a Ryan Gravenberch cross but failing to keep his lines in front of goal. The score remained 1-0 at halftime, due to a great Alisson stop from Ismaila Sarr.

After the interval, Palace had more chances, but their penalty claim was denied. Liverpool held out, but they will be concerned by Alisson’s injury, which pushed teenage goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros into action in the final moments.

Liverpool were obliged to make a change at halftime after failing to increase their lead, with Dominik Szoboszlai replacing Alexis MacAllister. Palace also made some changes, with Jean Philippe-Mateta coming on as a substitute in the last half hour after starting on the bench.

In the second half, Liverpool and Jota had more chances, including a header that went just wide following a Trent Alexander-Arnold free kick. Palace grabbed a second wind, maybe seeing a chance following Liverpool’s inability to put the game away.

Oliver Glasner’s players screamed for a penalty after Virgil van Dijk grabbed Marc Guehi’s hand inside the area, but the authorities refused, and Liverpool held on. Here are the key talking points from Selhurst Park, as reported by Mirror Football.