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Scoreline: Crystal Palace (13' Milivojevic) 1-2 Liverpool (49' Mane, 84' Salah)
The Premier League weekend began with Liverpool travelling to Selhurst Park to take on a struggling Crystal Palace side. The Reds were looking to continue their form after having thumped Watford 5-0 in their last league encounter.
The Eagles, on the other hand, had just ended their four-game losing streak after beating Huddersfield 2-0 away from home and were hoping to add to that victory.
Luka Milivojevic converted the spot-kick to give the home side the lead in the 13th minute but Jurgen Klopp's side appeared to be rejuvenated in the second half when Sadio Mane scored an equaliser in the 49th minute.
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More to and fro action followed throughout the rest of the game and, finally, Mohamed Salah sealed the game for the Reds with an 84th-minute winner. Here are the major talking points from the game.
#5 A mixed day for Sadio Mane
Early on in the game, Sadio Mane looked like the only source of creativity for the Reds. In what was a slow start for Liverpool, Mane was consistently on the prowl.
However, he took a step too far when he went down rather theatrically after James McArthur slid in the penalty box to challenge the Senegalese. Mane was rightly booked for simulation.
Apart from that blip, he managed to head in a ball nudged by Roberto Firmino from a corner but had drifted offside and the goal was disallowed. All of this did not deter the winger as he kept striving forward.
Mane was rewarded for his persistence when he managed to convert a low ball from Milner a few yards out after the Englishman had played a little one-two with Firmino to equalise for the Anfield outfit.
Soon after though, Mane was amidst another piece of the action on the field when he deliberately handled the ball in Liverpool's own half after going down in an aerial tussle.
While the foul was given, the Liverpool man was spared a much-deserved second booking that would have resulted in marching orders for the former Southampton player. Realising the same, Klopp replaced his best attacker on the night at the 64-minute mark with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Thus a mixed day for Sadio Mane was brought to an early end.
#2 Crystal Palace's long-ball play
Right from kickoff, Crystal Palace were engaged in playing long balls to their stout forward Christian Benteke with the wingers running through the lines off him.
The move seemed to be working with Zaha troubling the Liverpool defenders in the first 10 minutes of the game and earning a penalty soon after. Palace's designated spot-kick taker Luka Milivojevic stepped up and converted rather comfortably with a powerful kick towards the bottom left corner.
Around the hour mark, Andros Townsend teed up with Benteke to provide the Belgian with an open chance to score but the Palace striker missed the chance. A few moments later, Deja Vu happened with Benteke missing from a similar delivery from the Englishman.
The Eagles combined beautifully played long balls with an ever-probing Wilfried Zaha to attack the Reds on the counter-attack.
Overall, Crystal Palace were unlucky to have not secured even a single point from the game.
#3 Adam Lallana's injury troubles
It was only in the 65th minute of the game that Jurgen Klopp decided to bring on Adam Lallana for an underwhelming Georginio Wijnaldum. The English midfielder would have hoped of contributing to Liverpool's cause and also to slowly make a case for himself in terms of selection for the starting XI.
However, this was not the case as Lallana's outing lasted a mere 324 seconds. The former Southampton man appeared to have pulled a muscle while trying to challenge Milivojevic.
As a result, Lallana had to be taken off in the 70th minute and was replaced by Serbian defender Dejan Lovren.
Lallana has been struggling from the lingering after-effects of a hamstring injury he faced in July last year. He has started only one game for Liverpool in the Premier League this season and is now in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup.
#4 Enough appetite but little bite for Liverpool
Despite Liverpool coming up trumps in the end against Crystal Palace, the Anfield side were left wanting for much of the game. The Reds endured a sluggish start to the game and were left trailing within the first quarter of an hour of the game.
The likes of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were kept in check by Crystal Palace defenders with Sadio Mane emerging as Liverpool's best option on offense. Despite keeping over 68% possession on the night, the Reds did not create enough opportunities.
Liverpool did end the game with 16 shots but six of them were blocked with many other being half-chances. Palace were always in control while defending.
Although they endured a lot of pressure with Liverpool constantly trying to break the back line, the Eagles' performance looked rather effortless in their own half. They did concede twice, but it was all down to individual mistakes which were punished by a dogged Liverpool side.
#5 Salah scores again but is fatigue catching up?
One simply cannot discuss a Liverpool game without mentioning the Egyptian stalwart Mohamed Salah. He chipped in with a goal yet again for Liverpool, this time in the form of an 84th-minute winner.
However, he was arguably ineffective for the majority of the game. While one may attribute this to Patrick van Aanholt's performance, what also needs to be kept in mind is the fact that Salah did not appear as agile as his usual self on the field today.
He was barely noticed making those runs of searing pace throughout the game. Salah has undoubtedly been Liverpool's most crucial player this year and also is Egypt's main man.
As a result, he has played a lot of games this season. He hasn't missed a game for Liverpool since the New Year's day fixture against Burnley, missing only a total of three games for the Reds in total and playing 42 games in the process.
Salah also played a part for Egypt during the international break when he played against Portugal. He has also played every game for the African nation during the World Cup qualifiers played this season.
There is no doubting Salah's abilities, but with the business end of the season now underway, the former Roma man needs to be on top of his game which he certainly wasn't tonight.
Perhaps it is time for Jurgen Klopp to consider giving the Egyptian some rest?
