Liverpool moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Diogo Jota’s early strike proved enough for a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
The Portuguese forward opened the scoring inside nine minutes, poking home Cody Gakpo’s cross, and the scoreboard was not troubled again, with Liverpool extending their advantage over title rivals Arsenal and Manchester Liverpool at least for a few hours.
Eddie Nketiah had a goal disallowed for offside after 22 seconds but it otherwise an incredibly passive first-half display from Palace, who barely left their own half and would have been grateful to only be a goal down.
Jota had two big chances to double the lead and Mohamed Salah was denied by Dean Henderson after the break, before Jean-Philippe Mateta’s introduced signalled a more purposeful display from the hosts.
Eddie Nketiah and Eberechi Eze both had efforts saved, the latter denied by Liverpool goalkeeper Vítezslav Jaros after Alisson Becker had been forced off with just over ten minutes to go.
