Firmino pounces to keep Liverpool

Crystal palace 1

Zaha (82) liverpool 2

Mane (49), Firmino (85)

Jurgen Klopp was delighted with Liverpool’s fight at Crystal Palace as the leaders left London with three points, despite a below-par display.

Roberto Firmino struck an 85th-minute winner to extend the Reds’ unbeaten Premier League run to 30 games and end his own goalscoring drought.

Three minutes earlier, Wilfried Zaha had thrilled a buoyant Selhurst Park crowd with his first goal of the season to cancel out Sadio Mane’s opener.

“I am not surprised at all it was tough,” Klopp said. “All our games since I am in England are always similar. We just know it is a tough place, the atmosphere is good and they don’t give up. “We knew at half-time we had to do better. The challenge, and it’s the same for everybody, is that they come from the international teams, and I had no problem that we were not brilliant.

“In a game like this you just have to make sure you are ready to fight to get the result from the first minute. “Could we have played better? Yes, but we had players on the pitch who on Thursday morning were still on a plane.

“It is not too cool and for that getting a result at Crystal Palace, who we never take for granted, is good.”

Liverpool, who only named Mohamed Salah on the bench, dominated the opening exchanges at an electric Selhurst Park, but were denied an early goal when James Tomkins blocked Mane’s effort from Trent AlexanderArnold’s cross.

At the other end, Luka Milivojevic’s free-kick by the corner flag was inadvertently flicked on by Gini Wijnaldum, and Tomkins headed in at the back post. However, after VAR had a look, it ruled Jordan Ayew had fouled Dejan Lovren in the build-up.

Klopp managed to get his side to regroup at the interval and four minutes into the second half they made the breakthrough.