Crystal Palace 0-7 Liverpool, Player Ratings: Salah steals the show late on
Liverpool looked to kick their title defence into top gear with a tremendous 7-0 annihilation of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Off the back of an important 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Jurgen Klopp’s team put on a five-star performance as a number of players looked back to their absolute best.
Crystal Palace 0-7 Liverpool: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
✔️ GOOD PERFORMANCE
Jordan Henderson: 8.9
After a gruelling clash with Tottenham in midweek many would have forgiven Liverpool for taking their foot off the gear and grinding out a result against Palace. However, instead, the Premier League was given a forceful reminder of what Klopp’s team are capable of.
At the heart of that performance was Jordan Henderson. Not only did the holding midfielder get his name on the scoresheet with an excellently placed shot, but he also finished second in the passes to the final third metric.
Roberto Firmino: 9.1
Roberto Firmino may not have the strongest start to the season for Liverpool but the forward is undoubtedly getting back to his best for Klopp’s side.
Following a match-winning goal against Tottenham in midweek, the Brazilian forward was on hand to set up a second and tap home a third for Liverpool just before half time to break the spirits of an in-form Palace side.
Firmino also picked up a third midway through the second half, when he got on the end of a Mohamed Salah through ball and knocked the ball into the back of the net with a delightful dink over the goalkeeper.
The forward looked back to his very best for Liverpool and as such Klopp’s team put in an all-conquering performance.
⭐ STAR MAN
Mohamed Salah: 9.7
Much was made of Klopp's decision to drop Mohamed Salah to the bench for Saturday's clash with Palace but it now seems to have been nothing short of a masterstroke from the Liverpool manager.
Just when Palace's legs were beginning to ache and they'd given up all hope of clawing something back from the game, Liverpool introduced Salah and he made short work of a tired and demoralised defence.
With an exceptional through ball, Salah played Firmino in to score Liverpool's fifth goal of the game, before he got his head to a Joel Matip header to knock it into the back of the net 13 minutes later.
However it was the forward's exquisite technical talent that stole the show six minutes from time when he picked the ball up on the right flank and decided to cut inside on his signature left foot to curl it into the top corner.
Crystal Palace 0-7 Liverpool: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats