Florian Wirtz scored his first league goal for Liverpool and Alexander Isak added a late third as the Reds won 3-1 at Crystal Palace, surviving a stoppage-time scare at Selhurst Park.
Alexis Mac Allister headed Liverpool in front five minutes before half-time, Wirtz doubled the lead nine minutes after the break, and Isak made it three with a minute of normal time left. Eddie Nketiah's penalty deep into stoppage time was only a consolation for the hosts, who stay in the bottom three. Sky Sports recorded the scorers as Mac Allister in the 40th minute, Wirtz in the 54th and Isak in the 89th, with Nketiah replying from the spot in the 95th.
Mac Allister breaks the deadlock
The breakthrough came from a set piece, and it was as simple as it was well executed. Dominik Szoboszlai whipped in a cross from a wide free kick and Mac Allister was there to head home, with nobody anywhere near the Argentina midfielder. The Times live blog was scathing about the Palace defending, and rightly so — a free header from a free kick is a gift at this level, and Liverpool do not turn those down.
It was a deserved lead at the break. The Eagles went into the game 18th in the table and without a league goal in three games, and they were also without Jean-Philippe Mateta, whose appeal against a three-match ban was rejected in the week, and the injured Ismaïla Sarr. Our preview had flagged how thin Palace looked in attack, and the first half did little to change that picture.
Wirtz opens his league account
The second goal was the moment Liverpool fans have been waiting for. Bradley Barcola broke down the right and played the ball into the box for Wirtz, who swept home first time for his first league goal of the season. It was a lovely finish — calm, clean and exactly the kind of goal the German was signed to score — and it should lift a weight off his shoulders after a start to life in England that has been more promising than prolific.
Wirtz had already shown his quality in the build-up play, and his growing influence was underlined late on when he laid a simple ball off for Isak to fire past Dean Henderson and make it 3-0. One goal and one assist in the same game is the kind of return that turns a good performance into a statement.
Isak settles it, Nketiah replies
Isak's goal, a minute from time, looked like the final word. Palace had created chances — seventeen shots, seven of them on target — but Alisson was rarely beaten. Then, deep into added time, Nketiah scored from the penalty spot, but it was only ever a consolation.
The late goal will not trouble Liverpool. Palace's shot count tells the story of a side that is not short of effort or opportunity, only of the cutting edge to turn pressure into points — and with Mateta suspended, that edge is even harder to find. The failed appeal left Pierre Sage short of his main striker for this one, and Palace felt it.
So what: Palace's problems deepen, Liverpool's stars deliver
For Palace, the defeat keeps them in the bottom three heading into the international break, and the table does not lie: three games without a league goal before today, a suspended striker, an injured winger, and a home record that is giving them nothing to cling to. The break gives Sage two weeks to find answers, but the answers have to come from a squad that looks short of goals.
For Liverpool, this was a different kind of win from the one that slipped away in midweek. The 3-2 defeat at Fenerbahçe had ended their perfect Champions League run, and the response here was professional and ruthless: take the lead, double it, then kill the game. Wirtz scoring his first league goal and Isak finding the net again are the kind of individual milestones that can spark a run, and Liverpool will go into the break believing their season is back on track.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was the afternoon Florian Wirtz became a Liverpool player in the fullest sense — a match-winner with a goal and an assist at a ground where points are never given away. Palace huffed and puffed and even won a late penalty, but they were beaten by a side with better players in the moments that mattered. The Eagles' problems are real and getting worse, while Liverpool's expensive summer is starting to pay for itself. Is Wirtz now the key to Liverpool's season, or was this just one good afternoon? Have your say in the comments.
