Jürgen Klopp will have taken far more satisfaction from this narrow victory than the emphatic dismissal of West Ham on the opening weekend. Crystal Palace, always awkward opponents, were eventually seen off in south London to maintain the Merseysiders’ pristine start to the campaign and leave their manager chest-bumping his coaching staff as he celebrated on the sidelines. They have plenty of cause for optimism.
This was never comfortable, even after the home side had been reduced in number after the otherwise excellent Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s right knee illegally thwarted Mohamed Salah’s counterattack on the edge of the Palace penalty area with a quarter of an hour still to play. It was also controversial inasmuch as the home side were incensed at Michael Oliver’s award of a penalty as half-time approached, even if Mamadou Sakho’s stuttered and desperate lunges at the loose ball might have done enough to send Salah to the turf. Roy Hodgson, usually loath to criticise officials, was still seething at that award long after the final whistle.
Written by Dominic Fifield at Selhurst Park
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/20/crystal-palace-liverpool-premier-league-match-report under the title “James Milner and Sadio Mané give Liverpool win at 10-man Crystal Palace”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
