PLAYER RATINGS: CRYSTAL PALACE 1-3 LIVERPOOL

Liverpool travelled to Selhurst Park this afternoon and beat Crystal Palace 3-1 to cut the gap to Manchester City down to 9 points. Goals from Van Dijk and Oxlade-Chamberlain gave the Reds a halftime lead. The Eagles fought back second half and pulled one back through Edouard. A late Fabinho penalty sealed the win.

Read on for player ratings from the encounter:

Alisson – 9.5

Just like the Anfield clash against Palace, he was almost unbeatable. Made some spectacular saves before finally being beaten. The save of the day was when he backtracked to palm away Olise’s lobbed effort at 2-1. He collided into the post on that save but thankfully was alright. Sinply immense today.

Alexander-Arnold – 6.5

First half he played very high up the pitch as Liverpool squeezed Palace into their own defensive third. Second half he tired and gave the ball away a few times. He still showed his quality to play a sensational pass over the top to Jota akin to the one that led to the second goal at Arsenal. Jota won the penalty from that pass and the game was sealed.

Matip – 4

A bit all over the place today. Gave the ball away in dangerous areas and generally didn’t exude any sort of calm. His poor header fell to Schlupp whose pass put Mateta through for their goal. Was expecting him to be subbed at halftime again but he stayed on and his performance didn’t improve.

Van Dijk – 6.5

Bullet header to open the scoring. Made some crucial clearances at the back. Was slow on the turn today and allowed players run off the back of him. Olise got away from him first half but Alisson got a hand on the shot to divert it away from goal. Mateta also run off the back of him before squaring it to Edouard for a simple tap in. The offside trap was haywire second half.

Robertson – 8

First half he was unreal. His deliveries were begging to be converted and Van Dijk and Ox obliged. He was running riot on the left flank, with Edouard failing to track his runs. Second half Vieira switched things around and Olise moved out wide. The youngster gave Robertson a number of problems with his intelligent movement and close control.

Fabinho – 7

Dropped into the centre half position when Matip stepped all the way up to the right wing to try and win a ball. When Matip failed, a huge gap opened up and Fabinho was on hand to prevent Gallagher from finding the net. The midfield lacked control second half when Palace rallied. Fab stepped up with a huge penalty to seal the game late on. Should have done better when Jota found him on the edge of the box

Henderson – 6.5

Played well when the team was on top first half. Pressed hard and disrupted their buildup play. Went close to scoring when he swivelled and shot in the box. Second half you wanted him to step up and calm things down but he contributed to the chaos with his inability to keep the ball in the face of a fierce press. Kept going till the end though.

Jones – 6

Has to learn quickly to stop hogging the ball. He had his pocket picked by Gallagher late first half and Palace almost got in. It’s all well and good being silky on the ball, but knowing when to pass is key. He worked his socks off, made some important defensive interceptions second half.

Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6.5

Played on the right wing again and enjoyed some space down that side. Scored a well taken goal after a Robertson pickout. Could have had one or two more. Should impose himself on games more. Taken off early second half.

Firmino – 5.5

Gave the ball away carelessly and Alisson had to make another intervention on the stroke of halftime. Not in the game much second half. Showed some good close control at times but didn’t really influence proceedings.

Jota – 6.5

We spent the entire second half booting long balls up to him to contest. He kept at it though and won the late penalty with his sheer willingness to run at defenders. Gave the ball away with a sloppy pass not long after the penalty. His passing can leave a lot to be desired. Not a pretty afternoon, but effective in the end.

Substitutes

Minamino – 4.5

Added nothing when he came on. He was pretty much anonymous. Had a chance to play in Henderson for a fourth goal in injury time but his backheel went straight to a Palace shirt.

Milner – N/A

Surprised he wasn’t brought on for the pen, but as we saw with Mark Noble against Manchester United earlier this season, that’s probably for the best.

Gomez – N/A

On for the knackered Trent in injury time and there was still time for him to win some headers and make crucial interceptions. Solid cameo.

Jürgen Klopp

Went with the same XI that beat Brentford last week, with Oxlade-Chamberlain coming into the side after overcoming a knock. His side were incredible in the opening 35-40 minutes as they went 2-0 up and looked completely in control. They tired second half, understandably so after the intense game at the Emirates on Thursday.

Palace switched system second half and really gave it a go. Klopp’s men dug deep and held on, with Alisson making some key saves. They sealed the game from the spot late on in what was a real hard fought victory. The Milner and Gomez subs helped see out the game.