There is nothing quite like a sun-drenched Anfield in April to remind you why we love this game, even if Crystal Palace have spent most of this season acting as our bogey team. After three defeats to the South Londoners already this term, yesterday felt like a massive exorcism. It was a 3-1 win that finally put those demons to bed and, more importantly, moved us one step closer to securing Champions League football for next year.
Alexander Isak has had a nightmare year with that broken leg, but his goal in the 35th minute was pure class. When Alexis Mac Allister scuffed his shot, the anticipation from Isak was perfect. He reacted first, controlled the ball, and bounced a left footed finish over Dean Henderson. You could feel the relief erupting from the Kop. It was his first Premier League goal at Anfield, and hopefully the first of many now he is finally back in the side.
Five minutes later, we doubled the lead through a move that was classic Liverpool. It actually started with a massive moment at the other end. Freddie Woodman, making his full Premier League debut for us against his former club, pulled off a stunning save to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta. We went up the other end in a flash. Andy Robertson joined the attack with his usual lung-busting energy and produced a clinical finish to make it 2-0.
The second half was more of a nervous affair than it needed to be. The biggest worry of the day was seeing Mohamed Salah limp off with what looked like a hamstring injury. With only four games left, you really hope that isn’t the last we see of him in a Red shirt, especially with the talk surrounding his future.
Palace got back into it in controversial fashion in the 71st minute. Woodman did brilliantly to save from Ismaila Sarr but seemed to catch his studs in the turf and went down in obvious pain. Daniel Munoz didn’t wait for a whistle that never came and lobbed the ball into the empty net from distance. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and for a few minutes, Anfield felt very tense, especially when Jorgen Strand Larsen rattled the woodwork.
However, Florian Wirtz made sure there would be no late collapse. In the 96th minute, he latched onto a ball from Mac Allister and smashed it past Henderson to wrap up the points. It was his first goal since January and a perfect way to finish the afternoon. We are now eight points clear of Brighton in sixth, and while the Salah injury casts a bit of a shadow, the performance from Woodman and the return to scoring ways for Isak give us plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the run-in
