Liverpool move up to fourth in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, but Mohamed Salah could be playing his last game for the club.
After Alexander Isak scored his first goal since December and Andy Robertson doubled their first-half lead, Palace caused a stir when Daniel Muñoz lifted the ball over injured goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, but Florian Wirths scored in stoppage time to secure a point.
However, Salah, who announced in the summer that he would end his nine-year stay at the club, was pulled out shortly before the end of the season after feeling pain in his left hamstring, raising doubts about whether he would play in the remaining four games.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slott said: “It’s too early to tell a prognosis” regarding Salah’s injury. “We all know how difficult it is for Mo to leave the pitch. If we’re 6-0 and we beat him two minutes before the end, he’s still thinking, ‘We could have gotten two more points.’
“The fact that Mo is leaving the pitch says something, but we have to wait and see how bad it is.”
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Mohamed Salah sat up with a soreness in his left hamstring, casting doubt on whether he will feature in Liverpool’s remaining four games.
Slott’s side were able to make the most of Aston Villa’s loss to Fulham on Saturday lunchtime, moving them level on goal difference with Manchester United and opening up an eight-point lead over sixth-placed Brighton.
Anfield was in for an incident-filled afternoon that began with thousands of supporters holding up yellow cards in protest against a planned ticket price increase, before the penalty was rescinded.
Salah dived into goal and fell under a sliding challenge from Brennan Johnson, with referee Andy Madrid pointing to the spot. Johnson touched the ball, but Madrid overturned the decision after a VAR check.
Alexander Isak celebrates after scoring the first goal
Liverpool’s attack didn’t last long as Isak controlled Alexis Mac Allister’s header and curled his shot past goalkeeper Dean Henderson into the right corner for his first Premier League goal at Anfield.
Woodman, who started for the first time in place of injured Giorgi Mamadashvili and Alisson, played flawlessly, denying Jean-Philippe Mateta twice in the space of a few minutes. A second header from close range started Liverpool’s fightback, and Curtis Jones slid in to find Robertson, who scored a fine goal in his final appearance at Anfield.
Andy Robertson celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s second goal
Palace could not find a way past Woodman in the first half as Maxence Lacroix’s downward header was blocked by Woodman and the right post.
The second half was marred by injuries. Salah stopped his car at the end of his trademark inside run and received a huge ovation from the Anfield crowd. Woodman then also appeared to be injured, shaking his knee as he made a save from Sarr, before Muñoz smashed the ball over his head and into the net.
The third-choice goalkeeper was able to continue in the game and was lucky not to concede an equalizer, although substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen’s shot hit the inside of the left post and went wide, although Wirtz’s late slam into the wood frame sealed the result.
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Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz scored, while Liverpool’s Freddie Woodman went down injured while play continued.
Robertson: Munoz did not see injured Woodman
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson:
“To be fair to the kid (Muñoz), I was the closest to him and I don’t think he looked up until he hit the ball. I think he looked up when Freddie got up and then went back down. In a game like this, you just hope you don’t get penalized because it could have been done and it could have been 2-2 right after that.”
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. That’s part of football.”
Woodman: I didn’t know if I could stay back.
Liverpool goalkeeper Freddie Woodman:
“The grass was so dry that my knee sank into the ground. I felt a pain on the inside of my knee. I really didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I was going to get up and stumble towards the finish line or just stay down.
“It’s a little unclear whether the goalkeeper will go down or not. Of course I thought the game would stop, but fortunately he wasn’t penalized in the end.”
Slot: Referee should have stopped the match due to Woodman’s injury
Liverpool head coach Arne Slott:
“I was more nervous because of[Palace’s]goal and I don’t think we deserved to concede in that way. But Palace were a lot more active in the game than their 2-0 lead showed, so it wasn’t a complete surprise for me to score in the second half.”
“The way we conceded goals was not as expected. Has there ever been a game where the referee’s decisions were not talked about?”
“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve played a game, even for a simulation, when we were in a promising position and a player was on the floor and the referee blew the whistle.
“We’ve shown that we’re a fair team. We don’t go on the floor unless there’s a problem. When Macca (Mac Allister) was on the floor against Man United, Michael Oliver kept playing and we conceded a goal. Macca then got five or six stitches.”
“I think it’s difficult for the referee not to go into the game knowing that we’re not a team that pretends to be injured. If we were on the floor, something serious had happened. I don’t blame them (Palace). The referee should have stopped the game.”
Glasner: “We would have given Liverpool a goal”
Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner on Daniel Muñoz’s goal:
“We discussed (what to do) with the fourth referee, Arne Slott and (Virgil) van Dijk. We watched it.
“The keeper stood up. If he didn’t stand up and had to come off, they definitely could have scored in our goal, because then he would have been seriously injured.”
“The ball went to Daniel Muñoz and the keeper raised his arm. Either he didn’t see it well or it was the same timing,” he said.
“If it’s a serious injury, the referee has to stop the game, but you can see it when the keeper stops the game.
“It’s very dangerous for the future to ask the referee to stop the match. It wasn’t very clear, but I think it was the right decision in the end.”
