EPL: Liverpool beat Palace to extend Premier League lead

Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points thanks to Diogo Jota’s winner in a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Arne Slot has now won nine of his first ten games since succeeding Jürgen Klopp but was frustrated that the visitors invited a late onslaught from the winless Eagles.

Victory came at a cost for Liverpool as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off in the closing stages ahead of a much more testing run of fixtures after the international break.

“We should have finished it off with such a dominant performance,” said Slot.

“If you score the second, you break them mentally, and now all the fans kept believing in a result because it was only 1-0, even though, in my opinion, we were the dominant team.”

The defeat leaves Palace still in the bottom three with just three points from their opening seven games.

Slot’s seamless start saw him become the first Liverpool manager to win eight of his first nine games after beating Bologna 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday

However, the Dutchman has been quick to point out that tougher tests lie ahead for his side’s Premier League title credentials.

Liverpool face Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Manchester City in their next six Premier League games.

“It’s very good we have won these games, and now it is up to us to show ourselves in the big games,” added Slot.

“Unfortunately, Ali will not be with us, I assume, if I saw the way he walked off the pitch correctly.”

Slot saw both sides of his team at Selhurst Park as they failed to make the most of their first-half dominance but held out at the back for a fifth clean sheet in seven league games.

Palace did have the ball in the net inside 30 seconds, but Eddie Nketiah had strayed offside before flicking in Ismaila Sarr’s cross.