Diogo Jota’s early goal was enough to give Liverpool a tight 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday and ensure they go into the international break top of the Premier League.
Palace had the ball in the net inside 30 seconds after Ismaila Sarr got in behind Kostas Tsimikas and centred to Eddie Nketiah, who finished deftly but had strayed offside.
Liverpool took the lead after nine minutes when Cody Gakpo ran on to Tsimikas’ through ball down the left and centred for Jota, who breezed past Palace debutant Trevor Chalobah to poke home from close range.
Jota missed two good chances either side of the break as Liverpool failed to kill the game. The hosts built pressure late on but could not equalise and remain winless in the league with three points from seven games.