Such is the quality of Mohamed Salah, and such is the fear that he inspires, that there was an air of ominous inevitability about this latest match-winning cameo even as his team-mates struggled and scrapped around him.
This was far from vintage Liverpool, against a Crystal Palace side brimming with energy and speed, but Jurgen Klopp’s side hardly need to play well these days. Stay in the game, remain competitive, and Salah will do the rest.
Even Salah was below his best here, but like those most ruthless finishers with which he is now compared, he needs just one glimpse of goal. Only six minutes remained at Selhurst Park when the ball fell to Salah in the penalty box. The ‘Egyptian King’ took one touch to kill the ball, and then another to kill the game.
It was his 37th goal of the season, and his 29th in the Premier League. It was also the 21st league game in which he has scored, equalling the record for an entire season that was previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie.
Salah’s late intervention, added to Sadio Mane’s second-half equaliser, turned this encounter from frenetic to fruitful for Liverpool, and sent them 10 points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea in the hunt for Champions League qualification.
Mohamed Salah scored his 37th goal of a sensational season as Liverpool came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park and boost their chances of finishing second in the Premier League.
Luka Milivojevic gave Palace a first-half lead in the penalty spot after Loris Karius clattered into Wilfried Zaha but Sadio Mane levelled with a clever finish early in the second half.
Mane, already on a yellow card, was fortunate to not be sent off when he handled the ball but Salah proved to be the hero with yet another goal.
READ: The full Premier League report from Selhurst Park
Liverpool are looking to pick up where they left off before the international break against Crystal Palace.
Both sides need three points for different reasons as a win for Jurgen Klopp's Reds would see them temporarily go ahead of Manchester United to second in the table.
Sadio Mane got the only goal in the reverse fixture at Anfield back in August but having hit Watford for five recently, Palace will be wary. Follow all the action here as it happens. Sportsmail's OLIVER HOLT and DOMINIC KING will provide updates from the ground.
If you are using the app, please click here to view today's live blog.
11:32AM
Hello, and welcome to today’s liveblog.
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail aaron@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, or leave a comment below.
You may need to refresh the page for YouTube videos and other elements to display correctly.
Kick-off for this afternoon’s game at Selhurst Park is at 12.30pm.
Bola.com, London - Mohamed Salah akan kembali menjadi andalan Liverpool saat bertandang ke Selhurst Park, markas Crystal Palace, pada pertandingan pekan ke-32 Premier League, Sabtu (31/3/2018).
Mohamed Salah tampil impresif sejak bergabung dengan Liverpool pada bursa transfer musim panas 2017. Saat ini, bintang Mesir itu menjadi top scorer sementara Premier League dengan torehan 28 gol serta 10 assist.
Ketajaman Mohamed Salah juga mendapat perhatian dari manajer Crystal Palace, Roy Hodgson. Menurut dia, timnya bakal menuai masalah besar jika tidak fokus menjaga mantan pemain AS Roma tersebut di lapangan.
"Dia jelas telah menunjukkan kemampuannya pada musim ini. Saya tidak pernah bekerja sama dengannya, jadi saya dapat berbicara dengan hanya melihatnya," kata Roy Hodgson.
"Satu-satunya cara bisa menjaga pemain berkualitas adalah dengan bermain kolektif bersama tim," eks pelatih timnas Inggris itu menambahkan.
Bersama Salah, Liverpool berada di peringkat ketiga klasemen sementara dengan perolehan poin 63, tertinggal dua angka dari Manchester United di posisi kedua. Sebaliknya, Crystal Palace masih di peringkat ke-16.
Upaya tim tuan rumah memperbaiki posisi akan mendapat tantangan besar setelah satu striker andalannya, Wilfred Zaha, kondisinya meragukan. Tanpa Wilfred Zaha, pada musim ini, Crystal Palace menelan kekalahan dalam 10 pertandingan.
"Kami harus sangat waspada karena setelah laga melawan Huddersfield, dia mengalami cedera punggung," kata Roy Hodgson.
Sementara itu, Liverpool tidak akan diperkuat Emre Can dan Joe Gomez yang masih menjalani proses pemulihan cedera. Dominic Solanke dan Andy Robertson akan kembali tampil.
Dari enam pertemuan terakhir, Liverpool mampu meraih empat kemenangan, dan dua laga sisanya berakhir untuk Crystal Palace. Teranyar, Liverpool menang satu gol tanpa balas.
Crystal Palace: Wayne Hennessey; Patrick van Aanholt, Mamadou Sakho, James Tomskins, Aaaron Wan-Bissaka; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Yohan Cabaye, Luka Millivojevic, Andros Townsend; Wilfred Zaha, Christian Benteke
Liverpool : Loris Karius; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Sergio van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
