HUMMELS OPENS UP ON KLOPP SALAH FEAR FACTOR
Egyptian’s late winner keeps Liverpool on track for top four and sounds warning to Manchester City
WHEN the final whistle went at Selhurst Park, Jurgen Klopp celebrated Liverpool’s win with his customary zeal. He embraced his players, one by one, and then marched over to the side of the ground where the visiting supporters were massed. He waved and danced in front of them and, before he turned for the tunnel, he punched the air one last time with gusto.
Klopp was not celebrating so lustily because the three points had moved his team, temporarily at least, into second place. He was celebrating because it kept Liverpool clear of Spurs and Chelsea in the race for the top four and he was celebrating the mood.
The real significance of t his victory over Roy Hodgson’s struggling side is that it will send Liverpool into their Champions League quarter-final first leg with Manchester City at Anfield on Wednesday surfing a wave of optimism and invincibility. ‘The boys are really on fire,’ Klopp said after the game.
Even if City are uncatchable in the league, they do not have Mohamed Salah. Salah is simply unstoppable and he was again in south London. With the scores level and the game in its closing stages, it was, inevitably, the prolific Egyptian who appeared in the box to rifle home Liverpool’s winner.
It was his 29th league goal l of the season and his 37th in all competiompetitions. He has now scored in n 21 of his 31 Premier League appearpearances this season, equalling the record in a 38-game season n of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007- 08 and Robin van Persie in 2012- 13. City, in their current exalted state, do not fear many players but they will fear him.
The 2-1 defeat was rough justice for Palace in some ways. Christian Benteke missed two clear chances s and Sadio Mane should have e been shown a second yellow ow card midway through the second cond half for picking the ball up on the edge of his area.
But Liverpool showed again in that they have resolve to go with their fluid play. They rode Palace’s spells of dominance and found a way to win. The result is a blow to Palace’s hopes of avoiding relegation but a run-in with games against Bournemouth, Brighton, Watford, Leicester, Stoke and West Brom still leaves them favoured to survive.
Palace started the e game with intensity and intent tent and Wilfried Zaha, a, passed fit to play, emanated a sense of threat. Early on he darted ahead of Trent AlexanderArnold to get on to a through-ball from Yohan Cabaye. He controlled the ball l with his hand bu tu t Swarbrick did not notice otice and when Zaha clipped pped his shot goalwards, Liverpool were indebted to Loris Karius for blocking it with his chest.
A minute later, Liverpool came close to taking the lead when Virgil van Dijk headed goalwards from a corner and Mane tried to divert the ball past Wayne Hennessey with a header of his own. Hennessey was stranded but the ball went just the wrong side of the post. Liverpool had failed to heed the warning of Zaha’s early incursion though and, with only 13 minutes gone, he burst onto another through-ball. Karius rushed out to meet him but as Zaha lifted the ball b past him, the Liverp erpool keeper collided w with him and the refer ree pointed to the s spot. It was not an easy call. The ball had gone by the time KKari us thundered in into Zaha and Zaha’s foo foot was raised, but Mr Swa Swarbrick did not hesitate. K Karius escaped with a yellow bu but he could not save the spot-kick. Luka Milivojevic dispatched his seventh Premier League penalty of the season, by sending Karius the wrong way and smashing his kick into the bottom corner. Liverpool thought they had a penalty of their own when James McArthur caught Mane with his trailing leg as he slid into a tackle. There was contact but Mane had delayed his fall for a split-second and that seemed to sow doubt in Swarbrick’s mind. To the dismay of the Liverpool bench, Mane was booked for diving.
Liverpool came close just before half-time. Mane peeled away from his marker as Salah curled in a corner from the left and nodded a glancing header goalwards.
Hennessey was wrong-footed but flung out his right hand to palm the ball away and it was scrambled clear. But Mane would not be denied and four minutes after halftime, he put Liverpool level. The goal was made by a lovely feint by James Milner which deceived Aaron Wan-Bissaka and allowed Milner to take the ball to the byline before drilling it to the near post. Mane got ahead of Mamadou Sakho and steered the ball home.
Liverpool piled on the pressure now. A low cross from Andy Robertson flew across a crowded box, and when Alexander-Arnold angled it back across goal, Salah could not quite apply the finishing touch. As Liverpool grew careless at the back, Palace sensed new hope. Christian Benteke wasted a glorious chance when he ran on to a knockdown and lobbed the ball over Karius but put it well wide.
Benteke put his head in his hands but he had barely had time to grieve for his error when Andros Townsend burst down the right and played him clean in on goal again. This time, the ball was slightly behind Benteke but he could not even hit the target. His shot flew high over the bar. Now it was Zaha putting his head in his hands.
Amid another spell of Palace pressure, Mane was harassed by a Palace player on the edge of the Liverpool box and appeared to have been fouled. When Mane fell to the turf, he picked the ball up, assuming the referee had awarded him a free-kick. In fact, Swarbrick had not blown his whistle. When he did, it was to award a free- kick to Palace for deliberate handball.
It looked a straightforward second yellow card for Mane but Swarbrick did not bring it out of his pocket, despite Palace protests. Klopp did the smart thing and took Mane off a few minutes later.
Salah, who had been dangerous only fitfully, now stepped up. Six minutes were left when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain drifted a cross to the back post. Robertson volleyed it back across goal, Sakho slipped, Salah controlled the ball and poked it past Hennessey.
Klopp was asked whether he was worried t hat Salah would be tempted away from Liverpool next season. He restricted his answer to one word and a smile. ‘No,’ he said.