January 23, (THEWILL) – With a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, Liverpool cut the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to nine points.
The Reds raced to a two-goal lead in the first half, only to see Palace fight back admirably and were only denied a point due to some sloppy finishing.
Liverpool seized the lead after just seven minutes, thanks to Andy Robertson’s vicious corner, which was headed into the net by Virgil van Dijk, who scored his second goal of the season.
The rampaging Reds tightened the screws and eventually doubled their lead soon after the half-hour mark. Robertson was the creator once again, this time finding an open Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the back post, who rocketed the ball past Vicente Guaita.
For the majority of the first half, Palace did not appear likely to respond, but they erupted just before the break. Following a sloppy back-pass from Joel Matip, Michael Olise slipped in and should have scored. Then Jean-Philippe Mateta blew an even better chance, circling Alisson but failing to finish.
After the break, Palace’s comeback continued, with Conor Gallagher and Odsonne Edouard both failing to score despite being given gilt-edged chances. The Eagles eventually scored, with Mateta squaring to Edouard, who tapped into the empty net after finally beating the Reds’ high line.
Palace pressed for an equaliser, with Olise slipping in behind Robertson and trying a lob, which Alisson scrambled away.
Liverpool were then awarded a contentious penalty two minutes from time against the run of play. Diogo Jota clashed with Guaita in the area, and despite the fact that a penalty kick was not awarded at the time, the decision was changed after a VAR review.
Fabinho made no mistake from the penalty spot, sliding the ball into the bottom-right corner to put the game out of reach.
With the win, Liverpool closed the gap at the top of the league to nine points, and they still have a game in hand on leaders City. The Reds had some luck with decisions going their way and Alisson’s remarkable effort in goal. Crystal Palace remains in their 13th-place.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
