London: MohamedSalahnettedhis200thgoal for Liverpool and Harvey Elliott scored a stoppage-time winner as Liverpool came from behind to beat 10-man Crystal Palace 2-1and go top of the Premier League table after a rip-roaring clash on Saturday.
Liverpool top the standings on 37 points, one ahead of Arsenal who face Aston Villa later on Saturday, after a game that centred on the sending-off of Eagles forward Jordan Ayew for a second yellow cards after an innocuous infringement in the 75th minute.
Referee Andrew Madley was in the thick of things throughout the game, doling out eight yellow cards to the home side and denying them a penalty in the first half after being called to the sideline in a VAR review.
Palace eventually took the lead from a penalty in the 57th minute after another lengthy video review found that Jean-Philippe Mateta had been fouled by Liverpool centre-back Jarell Quansah, and Mateta stroked the ball home from the spot.
Liverpool hadn’t managed a single shot on target and were struggling to create chances until Ayew, who was first booked for not retreating from a free kick on the hour mark, was booked again and dismissed in the 75th minute after a harmless-looking challenge.
Salahstruck just over one minute later,nettinghis 150th Premier League goal to cancel out Mateta’s penalty with Liverpool’s first shot on target in the game.
Knowing a win would send them to the top of the league, Liverpool continued to pour forward and their persistence paid off when substitute Elliott rattled in the winner in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to the delight of the travelling fans.
(Published 09 December 2023, 15:37 IST)