Florian Wirtz scored his first Premier League goal of the season as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park.
Palace boss Pierre Sage, under pressure, saw his side show promise in the first half, when they had a goal chalked off for offside, hit the crossbar, and forced Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker into several good saves. However, they conceded the 40th-minute opener to Alexis Mac Allister from a set-piece, a familiar source of frustration for Sage after a promising spell.
Wirtz and Isak extend Liverpool lead
Wirtz, whose last Premier League goal came against the same opponents in April, doubled the Reds' advantage nine minutes into the second half. Alexander Isak added to the visitors' lead in the 89th minute, but Andoni Iraola's side were denied a clean sheet after Eddie Nketiah scored a stoppage-time penalty.
The visitors started quickly, forcing Dean Henderson into a low save with a Mac Allister effort in the first minute. Palace then enjoyed a brief spell deep in the Liverpool half, where Tyrick Mitchell delivered a ball into the six-yard box, but Jorgen Strand Larsen could not angle himself to pose a threat to Alisson.
Palace pressure and early chances
Action returned to Palace's final third, where Mac Allister attempted to fire home from a free-kick and Dominik Szoboszlai forced a diving stop from Henderson, though the ball looked to be travelling wide. Yeremy Pino went close to opening the scoring in the 18th minute, curling an effort off the crossbar after collecting Mitchell's cross. He then rose highest to meet a corner but directed it at the Brazil keeper for a straightforward save.
Strand Larsen, who had just been denied a shot after work by Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez, had the ball in the back of Alisson's net in the 33rd minute, but his celebrations were cut short by the offside flag and a subsequent VAR check. Palace kept the pressure on, and a sharp effort from Daichi Kamada required another quick reaction from the Liverpool keeper.
Second-half goals and late penalty
Mac Allister, unmarked, broke the deadlock by nodding home a Szoboszlai free-kick, and Alisson preserved the lead when he saved from Quinten Timber and Adam Wharton. Wirtz made it two in the ninth minute of the second half, directing a low Bradley Barcola cross that had evaded every Eagle in the penalty area into the bottom-left corner.
Palace had a huge chance with just under 15 minutes remaining when Timber's replacement, Dario Osorio, squared to Pino. He was one on one with Alisson, who rushed forward to smother the finish, then denied Jefferson Lerma, and Nketiah lashed an effort over. Henderson made a big stop to deny Isak with less than five minutes remaining, but he could not keep out the Sweden striker a second time when his close-range effort took a deflection and looped over the Palace keeper.
Palace won the penalty after Osorio clashed heads with Kerkez, and Nketiah delivered the consolation with a top-corner finish.
