Mane and Salah register milestone for Liverpool against Crystal Palace
What a week it has been for the Kop! When the fans are in awe with Liverpool comeback against A.C Milan, the game against Crystal Palace at Anfield has become one of the matches to be remembered this season.
I am unclear about the history between Africa and France, but the African players have shown their brilliance and stopped a particular ‘French Revolution’ at the London-based club.
Liverpool Squad against Crystal Palace
What is a football game without a good team and a good team without a good squad?
Defence
Liverpool started a new combination at the defence with Alisson Becker as the custodian. The defence consisted of Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate on debut, promising talent Konstantinos Tsimikas and the versatile James Milner.
Midfield
With the absence of Harvey Elliott due to injury, the midfielders for the game are Fabinho, Thiago & Jordan Henderson.
Attack
With the absence of Firmino due to injury, the lethal attack consisted of Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane & Diogo Jota.
On Bench
The new addition on the bench is defender Nat Phillips and a couple of players who didn’t start in the season we brought as substitutions.
Highlights in the game!
Milestones by different players
This game remarks as Henderson captaining the club for the 200th time and it started with a great save from Alisson to deny a goal for Palace in the 3rd minute. After that, the game went on all attack mode from the Liverpool players. A big chance came when Thiago nearly scored, Vicente Guaita blocked his attempt, and Jota did not utilize the rebound.
All the eyes were on Sadio Mane as he previously scored on eight consecutive occasions against the Eagles, and scoring in this game will make it 9. Mane brought his 100th goal for Liverpool in the form of a rebound from Salah’s attempt. Thus, now he has scored against Crystal Palace for nine consecutive games. Not only will it be one of his milestones, but he also broke the record of Robin Van Persie scoring eight consecutive times against Stoke City.
In the defence, Konate was brilliant, and Tsimiskas is proving to be one of the assist makers. This game also featured Mohammed Salah in his 150th Premier League game, where he scored his 4th goal of the season through an assist from Virgil Van Dijk. With the goal, Salah becomes the highest goal scorer in the league, along with Michail Antonio.
Few other observations from the game
The assist from Van Dijk made him the 9th different player to be involved in a goal. Naby Keita came in for Thiago, and he scored a stunning volley as his 1st goal this season.
Curtis Jones and Divock Origi, who were on the bench, were also substitutions for the 1st time this season.
Discipline
Regarding discipline, Liverpool received as many yellow cards in this game(3) as the rest of the four games(2).
Time for official numbers
Palace tried to gain the ball possession, Liverpool scored goals in crucial times.
Liverpool was dominant in touches and passes, and it is evident from the data.
Finally, Liverpool sits on top of the Premier League table with 13 points and 3 points clear of the competitors. With the Merseyside rivals Everton losing to Villa, only Manchester United and Chelsea pose as threats to the top positions.
Whats Next for Liverpool?
Next up for Liverpool is a trip to Carrow Road, where they will meet Norwich City for the 3rd round in the EFL Cup. The Reds have already defeated The Canaries while kicking off their 2021-22 season in the Premier League. Liverpool will be playing a game in every 3 days for the upcoming week. Thus, squad rotation will become a huge factor in the upcoming fixtures.
