Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool: Player ratings as Reds come from behind to top the Premier League table
Liverpool pulled off another escape to come from behind and earn a 2-1 win away to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Allan Gunn, the individual in charge of the 1990 FA Cup final which Palace lost on a replay to Manchester United, argued that referees «are stage managers, not performers». The officiating team on Saturday did not subscribe to the same school of thought, stealing the spotlight in a contest riddled with controversial calls.
There were no quibbles over Harvey Elliott's 91st-minute winner but the decisions that preceded the crisp strike will be debated by both sides. Liverpool, despite a lacklustre display for long spells, at least have the comfort of topping the table.
Crystal Palace finished their last home game on Wednesday night to a chorus of boos — prompting Roy Hodgson to label the club's fans «spoiled» — and the same roar of disapproval was dusted off in the first half Saturday's match.
While the midweek moans were aimed at the underwhelming home players, Selhurst Park turned its ire onto the officials three days later. A VAR review convinced referee Andy Madley to overturn a Palace penalty half an hour into the contest. Upon inspection, Will Hughes was deemed to have committed a similar foul to Virgil van Dijk, flooring Wataru Endo before Odsonne Edouard thought he had won the hosts a spot kick.
Moments before VAR John Brooks had rescued the visitors, Liverpool owed goalkeeper Alisson a debt of gratitude. At the sharp end of a breakaway sparked by a legal turnover, the returning Brazilian somehow smothered Jefferson Lerma from point-blank range, with Trent Alexander-Arnold mopping up the loose ball scuttling dangerously close to the goal line.
Liverpool were just as sluggish in the second half. Within
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