Report & Highlights: Last-gasp Nketiah blasts history-making Palace past Liverpool

Summary:

• Palace make one change, as Sarr returns to the starting XI after recovering from injury.
• 9 – GOAL: Sarr smashes home from close range to give Palace an early lead.
• 11: Pino is found by Sarr, but the Spaniard is denied from close range by Alisson.
• 19: Gravenberch hits a rising drive goalwards, and Henderson springs to his right to turn the ball onto the post.
• 22: Muñoz twice goes close as Alisson produces another wonderful save for Liverpool.
• 23: Mateta runs clean through, but his placed finish is blocked by the ‘keeper.
• 28: Isak runs through for Liverpool but slices wide in an electric first-half.
• 38: Konaté plants a header wide from a corner in the visitors’ best chance of the period.
• 45+5: Mateta’s placed finish from outside the box crashes against the inside of the post.
• 45+9: Henderson denies Salah after the Liverpool forward sprints in behind.
• HT: Palace 1-0 Liverpool
• 52: Isak and Gakpo both strike wide as Liverpool improve in early stages of second-half.
• 59: Wirtz forces Henderson into a reflex save from close range.
• 64: Isak slaloms through several challenges, but slices wide from close range.
• 70: The Swede then climbs highest, but heads narrowly over the bar, as Liverpool pile on the pressure.
• 78: Nketiah heads wide from Mateta’s cross moments after being introduced.
• 85: Chiesa bends narrowly wide of the bottom corner as Liverpool seek an equaliser.
• 87 – GOAL: Liverpool snatch a leveller late on as Chiesa pounces on a loose ball, his goal surviving a VAR check against Salah.
• 90+7 – GOAL: Lerma’s long throw is flicked on by Guéhi for Nketiah to smash home a late winner and – after another VAR check – send Selhurst Park into raptures.
• FT: Palace 2-1 Liverpool

Let the records tumble, the column inches sprawl: Crystal Palace produced arguably one of the greatest performances in the club’s Premier League to deservedly defeat Liverpool – ending the visitors' perfect start to the season – in the most dramatic of circumstances at Selhurst Park.

Through Ismaïla Sarr's seventh-minute opener and Eddie Nketiah's 97th-minute winner, the Eagles moved up to second in the Premier League table and equalled the club’s longest-ever unbeaten run in all competitions (18, first set in August 1969).

Oliver Glasner made one change to the side which defeated West Ham United at London Stadium last weekend, with Sarr returning from a three-game absence – and looking to score against Liverpool for a third consecutive game.

Glasner had said in advance of the game, however, that Sarr’s minutes on the day would depend on the level of the intensity of the game.

It was high – from the off.

Backed by a fervent Selhurst Park, Palace produced an outstanding first-half display – the only question mark being how they failed to go in at the break only a single goal to the good.

That strike arrived early doors, and appeared to shake the Premier League leaders. Daichi Kamada swung in a corner from the left, Marc Guéhi challenged Ryan Gravenberch in the air, and the Liverpool midfielder inadvertently nodded down for – who else – Sarr to smash home the loose ball from six yards.

It should’ve been two just seconds later.

Despite seeing much less of the ball, Palace’s rapid breakaways were a constant threat throughout the half – and when Sarr raced away and pulled back the ball towards Yeremy Pino, only a fine sprawling save from Liverpool’s Alisson stopped the Spaniard from netting his maiden Palace goal.

Liverpool immediately went up the other end and won a free-kick on the edge of the ‘D’, with the taking of it delayed by an event in Arthur Wait Stand.

When play did resume, Mo Salah struck it, the ball came off the ball, and Gravenberch controlled before firing a fierce rising drive goalwards.

An unsighted Dean Henderson somehow sprung high to his right, turning the effort onto the post and away – a super save to keep Palace’s lead intact.

True to form, the clear-cut chances just kept on coming.

A pull-back from Mitchell on the 22-minute mark drifted across the box, Daniel Muñoz met it first-time on his left foot – and Alisson shifted his body well to plunge low down and keep it out. Muñoz followed up, but his reflex header sailed over the bar.

Seconds later, Jean-Philippe Mateta – who had the better of Ibrahima Konaté throughout the first-half – bullied the defender off the ball and, clean through but under pressure from the advancing Alisson, saw his placed finish kicked away by the Liverpool ‘stopper.

After an electrifying opening quarter, the pace of the game did eventually settle – Liverpool dominant in possession, but kept at arm’s length by a well-drilled Palace side who carried almost all of the attacking threat with their razor-sharp, direct football.

That being said, Alexander Isak – making his first Premier League start for Liverpool after his league-record transfer – did have a good chance not long before the whistle, only to slice wide of the mark after being forced wide by Henderson.

Konaté ought to have done better with a clear header from a corner on 38 minutes – before a remarkable passage of play from Palace in the 10 minutes of time added on at the end of the half.

Another direct pass out wide sent Sarr sprinting out left to retrieve it, and when the ball eventually was set by Adam Wharton for a shot on the edge of the box, Mateta bent a first-time finish towards the top corner – agonisingly, it struck the inside of the post before drifting away.

Even with the half-time whistle imminent, the contest did not relent, another long pass seeing Salah enjoy a rare chance from a tight angle. He attempted to direct the bounce over Henderson – but the England international did brilliantly to charge it down.

It was a half which had a bit of everything – but probably deserved at least another two or three goals for Palace.

Admittedly, the second-half saw Liverpool begin a lot brighter, with Cody Gakpo – on at half-time for Conor Bradley – a lively presence from the left.

The pressure began to mount on the Palace goalmouth, with Isak and Gakpo both bending wide of the target with efforts from the edge of the box.

Florian Wirtz perhaps should have equalised just before the hour-mark, racing onto the end of Szoboszlai’s flat ball in and flicking it goalwards – but the German only served to direct his effort directly above Henderson, who still did well to raise a hand and claw the shot away from his goal.

Palace’s breaks were beginning to slow and the attacks became wave-after-wave in nature from Liverpool.

Isak showed quick feet to slalom through three tackles on 64 minutes, but then, under pressure from Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards, somehow conspired to slice his shot wide with the goal gaping.

The Swede went close again with 20 minutes remaining as he rose highest to meet Curtis Jones’ flighted cross but – heading back across goal – it thankfully cleared the crossbar.

With the game into its closing stages, Glasner turned to Jefferson Lerma and Eddie Nketiah from the bench – and the latter almost immediately clinched the contest, rising well to meet Mateta’s curling cross, but heading wide.

Into the final minutes and Liverpool – having struck six late winners in their opening seven league wins of the season – stayed true to form, and mounted a late siege on the Palace goalmouth.

Federico Chiesa, off the bench, flashed an effort narrowly wide of the bottom corner with five minutes remaining.

It was to prove a warning sign as, with only a few minutes of the regulation 90 left to play, a flat cross came in from the right side. Chris Richards – unsighted by the leaping Salah, who had jumped with a raised hand – could only half-clear it, and Chiesa swept home from close range.

VAR checked whether Salah had touched the ball with his outstretched arm – and ruled he had not. The goal stood.

But just as it appeared victory had been snatched away from Palace, a moment to remember in SE25.

Lerma launched in a long throw, Liverpool half-cleared, Hughes nodded back into the mixer, and Guéhi flicked it on.

Time stood still as the ball dropped for Eddie Nketiah, in the 97th minute. He chested down and, on his left foot, blasted home between Alisson's legs – sending the entirety of the Palace staff, squad and supporter base into ecstasy.

What a moment, what a game – what a team.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Muñoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell, Kamada (Devenny, 90+2), Wharton (Hughes, 62), Pino (Lerma, 74), Sarr (Nketiah, 75), Mateta.

Subs: Matthews (GK), Clyne, Canvot, Sosa, Uche.

Liverpool: Alisson (GK), Van Dijk, Konate (Frimpong, 74), Kerkez, Wirtz (Chiesa, 74), Szoboszlai, Isak, Mac Allister (Jones, 65), Salah, Bradley (Gakpo, HT), Gravenberch.

Subs: Mamardashvili (GK), Gomez, Endo, Robertson, Ngumoha.

As It Happened