Liverpool made it seven wins in seven consecutive away games at Crystal Palace with a 1-3 victory to keep touch with Manchester City at the top of the table.

Goals from Virgil van Dijk, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and a late penalty from Fabinho were enough to make meaningless Odsonne Edouard's strike.

Vincente Guaita returned between the sticks as Patrick Viera made two changes to his team. His opposite number Jurgen Klopp also made two changes to the team that defeated Arsenal in the second leg semifinal of the Carabao Cup. Alisson Becker returned to goal and Oxlade Chamberlain replaced Kaide Gordon upfront.

Liverpool didn't take long to test their hosts when Jordan Henderson tried his luck from about 20 yards out. Guaita needed to go down fast to make the save.

Three minutes later, the goalkeeper couldn't stop Van Dijk's header. The defender peeled off unmarked at the near post to meet a corner kick from Andy Robertson.

Palace had chances of their own which they couldn't convert. Michael Olise played Joel Ward through on the right side and the defender found Jean-Philippe Mateta in the box, who couldn't take his shot away from Alisson.

Making Palace rue their missed chances, Liverpool scored their second of the game. Robertson sending another cross deep into the far post were Oxlade Chamberlain controlled with his chest before powering a low drive into the bottom corner.

The chances were arriving, but the hosts refused to take them. Alisson again saving with his boot another effort from Olise. Then, the England youngster played Mateta in again with only the keeper to beat. He rounded Alisson, but the Brazilian stopper did enough to save his shot.

It was all Crystal Palace up till the end of the first term nd even after the restart. Edouard was presented with another opportunity from about five yards out when his back heel fell straight into the arms of Alisson.

Three minutes on from then, the hope finally came for Patrick Vera's men when Mateta is played through on goal and he draws Alisson close to him, before passing the ball to Edouard on the left, who slotted into the empty net.

With the game winding down, both teams went in search of the next goal that would prove vital to either win it for Liverpool or get Palace back level. Joachim Andersen played in Olise and he tried to lob Alisson after seeing the Liverpool stopper off his line, but the goalkeeper was able to backtrack and tip away.

Then came the last action of the game in the final minute when Alexander Arnold found Diogo Jota with a sublime through ball. The Portuguese took long to shoot, allowing Guaita to run into him and he hit the field. Referee pointed to the spot after review with VAR. Fabinho stepped up and dispatched for Liverpool took all three points.

**Concluding Thoughts**

Liverpool, it must be said have coped really well with the absence of Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah, winning their seventh straight game against Crystal Palace and have scored 22 goals in the process.

Bright spots for Crystal Palace, especially for the outstanding performance of Michael Olise, who was involved in anything hood that happened to Crystal Palace in the game.

Another moot point was VAR's decision to award the penalty to Liverpool after Diogo Jota went down in the Palace box. I feel that penalty was too soft to be given. Jota was already going down and the contact by the Guaita was only used as an excuse.