In a 3-0 victory against Crystal Palace, Sadio Mane scored his 100th Liverpool goal, putting Jurgen Klopp’s side three points ahead at the top of the Premier League table
Mane scored on the rebound of Mohamed Salah’s corner header to surpass his club’s century mark (43 goals) and become the first player in Premier League history to score in nine consecutive games against the same opponent.
“I’m very pleased for him that he was able to accomplish it,” Klopp said after the game. “It’s a huge achievement in the wonderful history of our club that just 18 players have scored 100 goals.”
Before Mane’s opener in a tumultuous start at Anfield, both sides had gone near to scoring. With less than two minutes gone, Alisson deflected Wilfried Zaha’s goalbound attempt into the post, while Diogo Jota blasted over horribly from four yards before Mane’s goal.
After losing Jairo Riedewald 12 minutes from time, Salah scored from another corner and a spectacular Naby Keita volley from yet another secured victory late on (89).
After the game, Jurgen Klopp summed up Liverpool’s difficult day by calling it “one of the most hard-fought 3-0s” he had ever seen, even though the score at Anfield did not tell the whole tale.
Liverpool defeated Palace due to late errors
Liverpool has previously found Crystal Palace difficult opponents – before their current four-game winning streak at Anfield – and may have wondered whether a return to form was on the cards when Alisson deflected Zaha’s lob onto the post within the first two minutes.
With Jota firing over from a close angle, Palace’s pace was quickly matched by a Liverpool team that had scored 12 goals in their previous five meetings this season.
He’d want to think it was his worst mistake of the half, but as the hosts seized control towards the conclusion of the first half, the striker blasted wildly wide from four yards out after Vicente Guaita palmed Thiago’s header straight at him, leaving him with the goal at his mercy.
No one was happier than Jota when Mane made apologies two minutes before half-time by scoring his 100th Liverpool goal, burying the rebound from Salah’s header from a similar distance.
After half-time, the hosts eventually took control of the game until Edouard’s entrance ignited the visitors’ performance for the second weekend in a row.
He scored in 20 seconds against Tottenham last Saturday, and he could have equalized seven minutes into his cameo this time. With the goal gaping, his heavy touch gave Alisson time to sneak in and clear Martin Kelly’s cross between James Milner and Ibrahima Konate.
Liverpool had no issues with finishing, as Riedewald gave Salah a clean run from another corner, allowing him to drive past Guaita from six yards powerfully.
Keita scored the best of the lot with a stunning 20-yard volley following a Guaita punch in the last minute of regular time to complete a hat-trick of goals from corners.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager: “We weren’t flying, so we had to put up a good show. Our supporters aided us, which I appreciated. When you look back at the end of the season, you remember certain delightful games and others that were quite significant – this is one of the latter.
“It’s difficult to maintain the intensity of Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday. When you aren’t great – decent but not brilliant – these are the games you must win. Today’s set pieces were fantastic.”
Patrick Vieira, Crystal Palace’s head coach: “I can’t say I’m happy when you give up three goals from set-pieces; it’s frustrating. We defended well at times, and you can’t let yourself surrender three goals from set-pieces at Anfield.
“Our strategy was to remain in the game, and losing a goal before half-time wasn’t ideal, but we fought back in the second half, tried, and couldn’t score.”
Mo Salah was named Man of the Match
Salah was eager to add to his Premier League total after hitting his century last weekend, and he opened the scoring with a beautiful move from which Mane scored on the rebound.
His mobility also allowed him to elude Riedewald in the game’s final minutes, allowing Liverpool to score their 101st league goal.
Image courtesy of Liverpool FC/YouTube