Liverpool moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Diogo Jota’s early strike proved enough for a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
The Portuguese forward opened the scoring inside nine minutes, poking home Cody Gakpo’s cross, and the scoreboard was not troubled again, with Liverpool extending their advantage over title rivals Arsenal and Manchester Liverpool at least for a few hours.
Eddie Nketiah had a goal disallowed for offside after 22 seconds but it otherwise an incredibly passive first-half display from Palace, who barely left their own half and would have been grateful to only be a goal down.
Jota had two big chances to double the lead and Mohamed Salah was denied by Dean Henderson after the break, before Jean-Philippe Mateta’s introduced signalled a more purposeful display from the hosts.
Eddie Nketiah and Eberechi Eze both had efforts saved, the latter denied by Liverpool goalkeeper Vítezslav Jaros after Alisson Becker had been forced off with just over ten minutes to go.
There were strong Palace appeals for a penalty when Marc Guehi appeared to be pulled back in the box by Virgil van Dijk, but the officials waved those away and VAR did not come to the rescues for the Eagles.
Arne Slot’s side came under some pressure but they saw out the match to maintain their perfect record away from home this season, and make it nine wins out of ten in all competitions under the Dutchman.
Liverpool will sit top of the table during the international break, after which the fixture list turns for the Reds. They host Chelsea before away games against RB Leipzig and Arsenal, with showdowns against Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid and Manchester City also on the horizon.
