Liverpool returned to Premier League action with a much-needed clean sheet after their midweek Champions League horror show as they drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace last night.
While they did have some chances, an absence of quality in the final third meant Jurgen Klopp's side failed to make it a hat-trick of consecutive league wins. The point did, however, mean they leapfrogged Brighton into seventh.
Another positive for the Reds was their fourth clean sheet in their last five Premier League outings. And it came after they shipped five goals in their humbling by Real Madrid on Tuesday.
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Key to the shutout was Virgil van Dijk, who was rated his side's best player by our chief Liverpool writer Ian Doyle. And after the match, the Dutch defender shared his reaction to the game with fans on Instagram.
Van Dijk said: "Together! YNWA."
While the game won't live long in the memory, it was a step in the right direction after the 5-2 home loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said of the result: “It was a good point. The main difference to the other games we have played here over the years – and I know the record is insane – is that we didn’t score.
"I remember we often scored with a set-piece and the second was a counter-attack, and in the last 10 minutes, we were under pressure.
“Apart from when they hit the crossbar, they had no shots on target. Tough game, but we got a point and a clean sheet. We carry on."
The result leaves Liverpool six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who host Chelsea at 1.30pm today (Sunday). The Reds will then have two games on hand on Spurs - the first of which will come on Wednesday when Wolves visit Anfield.
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