Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool player ratings: Van Dijk lucky but outstanding in narrow win

LIVERPOOL maintained their place at the top of the Premier table with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Crystal Palace  on Saturday.

Diogo Jota converted a Cody Gakpo cross after just nine minutes, with most Liverpool fans probably thinking they would dismantle their hosts from there. However, it proved to be a much tougher game, with Palace threatening the Reds over a period of the second half.

FT: Crystal Palace 0-1 Liverpool

Liverpool win their opening four away games of a Premier League season for just the second time after 2019/20.

It wasn’t pretty, but all wins count for three points, meaning Liverpool sit a point ahead of both Manchester City and Arsenal after seven games, still with just two goals conceded in Premier League play so far this season

Crystal Palace player ratings

Dean Henderson: 50%

An average score for an average performance, saving three of four shots on target but ending the match with -0.48 goals prevented based on xG faced.

Maxence Lacroix: 67%

Won 60% (3/5) of his aerial duels and carried Palace out of trouble with two successful take-ons.

Marc Guehi: 64%

Made a match-high six clearances, while making two blocks and completing six long passes. Perhaps should have won a late penalty after Virgil van Dijk grabbed hold of his arm during a Palace cross.

Trevoh Chalobah: 59%

Made two interceptions that retained possession and had a 94% retention rate, showing composure with the ball. Beaten to Gakpo’s cross by Jota for the goal, which ultimately cost Palace the points.

Nathaniel Clyne 53%

Replaced the injured Daniel Munoz after 17 minutes, so technically kept a clean sheet. Won two tackles and made two clearances, but was poor on the ball, completing just 44% of his passes.

Jefferson Lerma: 58%

Won possession in the middle third more than any other midfielder (5), but completed just 67% of his forward passes, dragging his score down. Only made two successful passes into the final third.

Adam Wharton: 57%

Came off injured on the hour. Didn’t get going in the first half and to be honest, didn’t look at all fit. Completed just 44% of his forward passes and only played three successful passes into the final third, though he did complete one into the Liverpool penalty area. Will Hughes improved Palace from the bench but didn’t play long enough to get an accurate rating.

Tyrick Mitchell: 52%

Mitchell was the man sacrificed early into the second half as Glasner changed shape. Won the joint-most tackles of any Palace defender (2) but posted a 0% completion rate with his open-play crosses and didn’t win possession in the defensive third at all.

Ismaïla Sarr: 49%

Just two touches in the opposition box and one shot on target from a missed chance just before half-time. A bit of a passenger otherwise.

Eddie Nketiah: 37%

Just one shot and no touches in the Liverpool box. That accurately sums up how difficult Nketiah found it against Liverpool’s giant centre-backs.

Eberechi Eze: 58%

Carried the ball into the Liverpool box seven times, created one big chance and hit two shots on target, the second of which he struck straight into Viteslav Jaros’ arms. Palace’s most lively player but a frustrating afternoon for the England international.

Liverpool player ratings

Alisson: 74%Made more saves (4) than any of the three goalkeepers who played today, two of which were inside the box, while he prevented 1.28 goals. However, the sight of the Brazilian once again leaving the field injured will have Liverpool fans worrying. Arne Slot has already said it could take ‘weeks’ for Alisson to recover from this hamstring problem.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 70%

Should have finished the game with an assist had Diogo Jota finished from his second-half cross, which was one of two chances he created. Also chipped in defensively with two successful tackles — the joint-most of any Liverpool defender — four recoveries, an interception and a clearance.

Ibrahima Konate: 72%:

Three for three on aerial duels and four for six on the ground. Also misplaced just two of his 58 passes in another productive afternoon.

Virgil van Dijk: 82%

Won a match-high five aerial duels, which is standard Van Dijk behaviour. He also came up with a big interception inside his own box and made three interceptions while retaining possession. On the ball, Van Dijk completed three more long passes (9) than any other player on the pitch and created one big chance. That said, had VAR decided his pull on Guehi was worthy of a penalty, his score would have taken a hit.

Virgil van Dijk’s game by numbers vs. Crystal Palace:

116 touches
99/108 passes completed (91%)
6/8 duels won
5/7 aerial duels won
3 interceptions
3x possession won
2 clearances
1 shot
1 chance created
0 fouls
0x dribbled

Kostas Tsmikas: 63%

A solid outing from Liverpool’s back-up left-back, who played the through ball to set Cody Gakpo free in the build-up for Jota’s goal. Also made one interception and two clearances.

Ryan Gravenberch: 71% 

Gravenberch suffered statistically from a few ‘unsuccessful touches’, given by Opta when a player touches the ball before immediately losing possession. Like Alexander-Arnold, Gravenberch also saw Jota miss a big chance he created, robbing him of an assist. Otherwise, the Dutchman was at his controlling best again, with no midfielder playing more accurate passes into the final third (6), or making more interceptions that retained possession (2).

Alexis Mac Allister: 58%

Won both of his contested aerial duels and created one chance before being subbed off at half-time. Liverpool seemed to lose control of the match in his absence (though there were other factors). His replacement Dominik Szoboszlai (61%) was direct as usual, completing both take-ons attempted, but was guilty of an inaccurate shot from range and losing possession in the dying minutes when Liverpool just needed to see out the match.

Curtis Jones: 62%

A decent game without doing anything too noteworthy. Completed 100% of his forward passes and 98% overall (46/47), but he mostly played the ball backwards or sideways, with just three passes going into the final third. Replaced by Wataru Endo late on.

Mohamed Salah: 50%

Missed a big chance in the 56th minute and was generally quiet, touching the ball just 33 times before being replaced by Luis Diaz in the 73rd minute.

Mohamed Salah away from home in the Premier League this season:

⚽🅰️ vs. Ipswich
⚽🅰️🅰️ vs. Man Utd
⚽ vs. Wolves
❌ vs. Crystal Palace

The Eagles keep him

Diogo Jota: 66%

Scored the winning goal after just nine minutes but probably should have had a hat-trick, missing ‘big chances’, as mentioned, set up by Alexander-Arnold and Gravenberch. Still, it was another all-action performance from Jota, who is a terror for defenders. “As well as working very hard, he works in a smart way,” Arne Slot said of Jota to BBC Sport. “He has a lot of tactical knowledge that helps us. But he could have had an extra goal, maybe two.”

Cody Gakpo: 63%

Provided the assist for Jota’s goal but was most effective helping out his defence, often switching places with Tsimikas on the left flank early on. Gakpo made three interceptions while keeping possession and won two tackles, including one in the final third. This wasn’t really a game for the forwards, with a below-average (for the Premier League) nine shots on target overall. But Gakpo did his part in what still counts as a vital win. If we were rating him based on the full-back score, he played a 77% game — perhaps closer to the general perception of this display.