Jurgen Klopp's side came from behind at Selhurst Park to secure a win that turned on Jordan Ayew's second-half red card
Liverpool came from behind to move to the top of the Premier League table, at least for a few hours, as they recovered from a lacklustre first 70 minutes at Crystal Palace to escape with a 2-1 win that owed plenty to Jurgen Klopp's substitutions and a fair bit of luck.
The Reds started brightly in south London, but it was Palace who created the best chance of the first half as the returning Alisson Becker did superbly to tip Jefferson Lerma's powerful effort onto the post from point-blank range.
Roy Hodgson's side also had a penalty decision overturned before half-time, but their VAR luck turned after the break as Jarell Quansah was adjudged to have fouled Jean Philippe-Mateta as he attacked a cross at the near post, and the Palace striker picked himself up to fire home from the spot.
Liverpool huffed and puffed in their search for an equaliser, but it was not until Jordan Ayew was red-carded for two rather soft bookings in the 75th minute that the game fully swung in their favour, and within a few seconds the visitors were level as Mohamed Salah swept in a deflected shot for his 200th goal for the club, and 150th in the Premier League.
From there, the Palace goal was under siege, and substitute Harvey Elliott eventually found a way through in the early moments of stoppage-time as he skipped past a couple of defenders before burying a shot from 20 yards.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Selhurst Park…
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Alisson Becker (8/10):
Superb save denied Lerma in the first half but couldn't keep out Mateta's penalty. Fine late parry to deny Andersen's header in the final seconds marked an excellent return from injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7/10):
Liverpool's best outfield player for the first hour, both as a right-back in the first half and as a central midfielder in the second. Showed good energy and excellent passing range.
Jarell Quansah (6/10):
Incredibly assured early on but Palace began to target his inexperience as the game wore on. A little unfortunate to concede the penalty with his final act before being substituted.
Virgil van Dijk (6/10):
Solid at the back for the most part as he looked to guide Quansah through the game.
Kostas Tsimikas (4/10):
Most of Palace's best attacks came down his flank as Tsimikas struggled to track back in transition. Set-play delivery was poor, too.
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Wataru Endo (4/10):
Didn't take enough risks in possession and struggled with the physicality that Palace's midfield imposed. Replaced at half-time.
Dominik Szoboszlai (4/10):
Visitors needed more from the Hungarian star in terms of creating opportunities against Palace's low block. Struggled to impose himself and was replaced for the final 20 minutes.
Ryan Gravenberch (5/10):
Ran down too many blind allies when he picked up possession. Won the ball back well a couple of times, but didn't offer enough to warrant being kept on beyond the early stages of the second half.
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Mohamed Salah (5/10):
Palace kept him incredibly quiet for the first 75 minutes before he found himself in the right place to net the equaliser and bring up his 200th goal for the club.
Darwin Nunez (2/10):
Felt like that he spent the whole afternoon in an offside position. His anonymity meant Liverpool were basically playing with 10 men until he was replaced shortly before the equaliser.
Luis Diaz (3/10):
Looked tired almost from the outset and struggled to create much from the left-hand side, especially when he tried to link with Nunez. Had a late goal – a wonderful dinked finish – rightly ruled out for offside.
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Joe Gomez (7/10):
Grew into the game, and created plenty from right-back once Ayew was sent off.
Cody Gakpo (7/10):
Injected some positivity and creativity into the Liverpool midfield after coming on for Gravenberch. Played a key role in Salah's equaliser.
Ibrahima Konate (5/10):
Seems to have lost a lot of confidence and was guilty of fouls or poor passes in late Liverpool attacks.
Curtis Jones (7/10):
Probably should have started, and showed why with an energetic display, capped by his deft touch amid the chaos to set up Salah for the equaliser.
Harvey Elliott (8/10):
Another impressive cameo off the bench, and his superb individual strike from 20 yards proved to be the difference on the day.
Jurgen Klopp (6/10):
A mixed afternoon for the Reds boss. Got his midfield composition wrong given Palace's low block, but made the right substitutions to get the visitors back into the game.