Crystal Palace v Liverpool: Live matchday blog
Follow all of the build-up, action and reaction as Liverpool face Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Selhurst Park.
- Milner penalty puts Reds in front just before half-time
- Mane doubles lead in stoppage-time
- Wan-Bissaka sent off for bringing down Salah
Stat
Sadio Mane has scored six goals in his eight Premier League appearances against Crystal Palace, more than he has against any other side.
Full Time
Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool
The Reds have to dig in to get an important three points at Selhurst Park.
James Milner's first-half penalty put them ahead after Mamadou Sakho tripped Mohamed Salah inside the box.
Palace pressed for a leveller after the break, but their hopes were dashed when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was shown a straight red for bringing down Salah when he was through on goal.
Sadio Mane made certain of the win when he finished off a counter-attack in injury time by rounding Wayne Hennessey and slotting in.
Goal
GOAL! SADIO MANE!
After a spell of Palace set-peices, Liverpool finally get a second goal.
They break from a corner as Salah slides in Mane. He speeds away from Van Aanhold, showing great strength to hold off his challenge, before keeping his balance to round Hennessey and slot in.
Get in!
Four minutes of added time to be played...
Substitution
Adam Lallana is on for Naby Keita.
Liverpool ride their luck as Meyer can't get a connection on Zaha's dangerous low ball into the area.
Chance!
Salah's header from Mane's cross is tipped over the bar by Hennessey.
Substitution
Meyer is on for Schlupp for the hosts.
Good challenge from Wijnaldum inside the box denies McArthur a shooting opportunity.
Salah lays the ball off for Mane, whose low drive is collected by Hennessey.
Substitution
Palace send on Ward in place of Townsend on the back of going down to 10 men.
Salah strikes the resulting free-kick, but it clips the top of the wall and goes behind
Red Card
Wan-Bissaka is sent off as he brings down Salah after the No.11 found himself clean through on goal.
Chance
The ball breaks for Zaha in the box, he shifts it and shoots, but Alisson gathers at his near post.
Substitution
Palace change - Benteke goes off and Sorloth is on
Substitution
Liverpool change and it sees Milner make way for Henderson.
Alexander-Arnold arrows a low ball in towards the near post, but Hennessey reaches it before Firmino can.
Salah smacks a crisp half-volley back towards goal from a half-cleared corner, but it's blocked before it can reach the goal and deflects behind.
Benteke plants a header towards the bottom corner from a set-play from the left. Alisson does well to save it, but Zaha is flagged offside anyway.
Van Aanholt skews one over Alisson's bar from an angle.
Milivojevic strikes the free-kick and Alisson needs to beat it around the post.
Yellow Card
Alexander-Arnold goes into the book after being adjudged to have fouled Zaha on the edge of the area and a free-kick is awarded in a dangerous area.
Chance!
Liverpool break at pace from a Palace attack. Robertson sprays the ball into Salah's run into the area, but Hennessey dives at his feet to get something on the ball. The No.11 recovers and lays it off for Keita, who slides wide of the post from 15 yards out.
Kick-Off
And we're back under way
Palace get the second half up and running.
Stat
James Milner has scored 13 of the 15 penalties that he has taken in the Premier League, including nine of his 10 for Liverpool in the competition.
Indeed, each of his last eight league goals for the Reds have come from the spot.
The tale of the tape in the first half at Selhurst Park...
Half Time
Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool
James Milner's penalty seconds before the interval gives the Reds the advantage at the half-way stage at Selhurst Park.
Goal
Goal - James Milner!
The captain makes no mistake from 12 yards and Liverpool lead 1-0.
Penalty
Penalty to Liverpool!
Salah is brought down by Sakho inside the area.
Yellow Card
Van Aanholt goes into the book for a late challenge on Milner.
Liverpool break forward at speed but Mane sends his cross drifting over the bar from the left.
Wan-Bissaka reaches a ball that looks to be drifiting behind for a goal kick to Liverpool and flashes a ball across the face of goal, but thankfully no-one in red and blue is able to meet it.
Chance
Great stuff from Salah to keep a ball forward alive and hook it back into the danger zone. Wan-Bissaka's attempted headed clearance drops for Robertson just inside the area, but he gets under his attempted half-volley and it sails well over.
Gomez makes a fine sliding challenge on Zaha to prevent him from going through on goal.
Schlupp takes aim from distance and drags well wide of Alisson's post.
Chance!
Keita's low drive towards the near post is repelled by Hennessey after Salah's inital effort was blocked by Sakho.
Chance
Palace threaten as Keita gives the ball away. Townsend cuts inside and lets fly from 20 yards. The ball crashes against the crossbar and Zaha's follow-up is blocked by Alexander-Arnold.
Chance!
Wow, that would have been some goal.
Keita completely outfoxes Townsend with a spin on the edge of his own box before pinging a glorious 60-yard ball forward into the path of Salah. He controls it and tries to lift it over the advancing Hennessey, but it's too high.
The ball rolls into the back of the Palace net after Hennessey, Mane and Wan-Bissaka all challenge for a cross from Alexander-Arnold. The hosts are pleased to see the raised flag of the official as the Liverpool forward is adjudged to have committed a foul.
Match shot
Mo on the move.
Sakho's attempted clearance on the edge of his own box cannons against Keita and breaks for Salah, but he can't adjust his feet quickly enough to shoot and Van Aanholt is able to make a challenge.
Brilliant burst of speed from Mane to surge into the area from the left, but he's thwarted by a good recovery from Wan-Bissaka.
Hennessey has to produce a spectacular flying punch to clear a ball hung up into the centre of the area by Milner.
Liverpool pushing for the opener here.
Mane and Keita combine to open up space for Robertson down the left. He fizzes a low ball into the six-yard box, but it's claimed by Hennessey.
Firmino tries to release Mane clear through, but his pass is just a touch too heavy and rolls through to the advancing Hennessey before the Reds' No.10 can reach it.
Salah is sent scampering into the area thanks to a brilliant pass from Mane. He's up against Sakho and elects to cut onto his left before shooting; however, the former Liverpool defender makes a good block.
A fairly lively start here at Selhurst Park. Don't think this is going to be a quiet one.
Kick-Off
And we're off!
Liverpool start the game at Selhurst Park.
Come on you Reds!
Here come the teams...
Alisson is set for his away Premier League debut...
The Reds arriving at Selhurst...
Klopp on team selection
The manager offered a short explanation of his decision to name an unchanged line-up - but with a few changes on the bench - when he spoke to Sky Sports upon arriving at Selhurst Park.
"There are normal squad decisions you have to make week in, week out and that's what I did. [There is no problem with Fabinho], nothing, he is here," he said.
Sadio steps up
It's media duties for Mane ahead of kick-off tonight.
Here's how Opta expect the sides to look...
TEAM NEWS
It's an unchanged line-up for Liverpool at Selhurst Park tonight as Jürgen Klopp deploys the same team he did in the season-opener with West Ham United last time out.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Keita, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Subs: Mignolet, Henderson, Sturridge, Moreno, Lallana, Shaqiri, Matip.
'Liverpool were hugely impressive v West Ham'
The words of Palace boss Roy Hodgson in tonight's programme...
"We are going to have to be just as ruthless in front of goal [as against Fulham last week] if we are to get something from tonight's visit of another of my former clubs," writes the ex-Reds manager.
"Jürgen's team were hugely impressive in their opening fixture against West Ham United and with the quality in their squad, they will be looking to be involved in the race for the UEFA Champions League places and even the title itself."
All set...
It's the first game of the new season at Selhurst Park tonight - and the conditions are perfect.
Did you know?
Milan Baros is the only Liverpool player to have scored a hat-trick against Crystal Palace. He did so in a 3-2 win in November 2004.
What are the odds?
BetVictor have the answer...
Crystal Palace - 7/1
Draw - 17/4
Liverpool - 2/5
Click here if you'd like more details.
In fashion
The Reds made a stylish start to 2018-19 on the pitch and off it - with a new and exclusive LFC fashion collection now available. Check out the full range here.
Milner's message
James Milner was considered by many to be Liverpool's standout performer in the opening game of the season, and the No.7 spoke in the week about his personal approach to the increased competition for places this term.
"I want to play every single game. Obviously that's not going to happen, I'm sure, and you need to rotate to be successful with the amount of games we have. And with the quality that's in the squad, I'm sure that's going to happen.
"But as long as I'm performing every time I step onto the field and making it as difficult as possible for the manager to leave me out of the side, I can't do any more than that."
Success at Selhurst
The Reds have had the upper hand in this fixture for the most part recently...
The opener
Liverpool began the season in style with a 4-0 win over West Ham United at Anfield. See the goals from Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane (two) and Daniel Sturridge again below...
View from the opposition
Want to know more about Crystal Palace? We got a detailed lowdown on what to expect from Roy Hodgson's team, how they have changed under the manager, and their main threats.
Weather
Did you think we'd forgotten? No chance.
Our resident weather experts inform us it's around 25 degrees in Selhurst at the moment, with that temperature likely to drop slightly by kick-off. There's cloud overhead, however, so prepare accordingly.
The manager's view
See what Klopp had to say about tonight's game with our full video from Friday's pre-match press conference at Melwood...
Stat attack
Impress your friends with these facts...
- Sadio Mane could become the first Liverpool player to score in three successive league meetings with Palace
- In the Reds' 18 Premier League clashes with the Eagles there have been 63 goals - an average of 3.5 per game
- Daniel Sturridge could make his 100th league appearance for Liverpool. His next Premier League goal will be his 50th since joining the club
Team news
Liverpool hope to have Joel Matip available in the matchday squad at Selhurst Park after the defender returned to training and came through an inter-squad match at Melwood on Wednesday.
Dejan Lovren remains unavailable, however, due to a pelvis issue.
Palace boss Roy Hodgson reported on Friday that he has a fully-fit squad to choose from against the Reds, having kicked off the campaign with a 2-0 win at Fulham.
Mamadou Sakho and Christian Benteke are expected to face their former team.
Elsewhere...
This match is the 10th and final of the Premier League weekend - here's how the other clubs fared in the past two days...
Worth the wait?
As mentioned, the Reds have had an eight-day gap between matches. But how exactly have they used the time? We put the question to Joe Gomez ahead of the game and he insisted it has been a positive for Liverpool...
"There are pros and cons when you have a good result or a bad result - sometimes you just want to get straight into the next one. But it's time for us to build and try to progress and work on things in training, and the tactical aspect."
The last meeting
Liverpool were victorious against the Eagles in both league clashes last season, completing the double at Selhurst Park with a comeback win sealed by Mohamed Salah.
Relive the best of the action again below.
Tale of the tape
Very early days of course, but here's how the numbers stack up for both teams after the opening round of matches in the Premier League last weekend...
Welcome
After an eight-day wait, the Reds are back in Premier League action tonight - with Crystal Palace the opposition for their second game of the season.
Stick with us as we bring you all of the build-up to the match, live updates from Selhurst Park and reaction.