Liverpool fans have had their hearts broken by Crystal Palace quite often in recent years, but on this occasion it was the Eagles supporters who were left upset after a late, late Christian Benteke penalty gave the Reds (or in this instance, the Whites) all three points after another roller coaster game at Selhurst Park.
After a goalless first half, it only took the home side three minutes to go ahead after the break when Joe Ledley fired home from the edge of the area as Liverpool couldn’t manage to clear the ball.
Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool when James Milner was sent off for a silly challenge on Wilfried Zaha. The vice-captain, who was already on a yellow card, took the winger out as he looked to start a counter attack and was rightly show a second yellow card.
However, ten minutes later, Liverpool got a huge slice of luck as Palace ‘keeper Alex McCarthy slipped when trying to kick the ball long from a backpass. The ball fell straight to Roberto Firmino and the Brazilian finished well.
Liverpool got the winner deep into stoppage time when Benteke seemed to be going nowhere in the box but Damien Delaney inexplicably went to ground. He caught the Belgian with his knee, the striker went down and a spot-kick was awarded.
With regular taker Milner off the pitch, Benteke stepped up and took the coolest penalty we’ve seen since, well, a week ago when Emre Can scored at Wembley.
Here are our player ratings from the game:
Simon Mignolet - 8
Mignolet was very brave in the first-half, diving out to stop Yannick Bolasie. He dealt with crosses well too. He was hardly needed in the second half and couldn’t be blamed for the goal.
Jon Flanagan - 6
Flanno was back in at right-back for this one and he had a solid game. He did well at the back post to deny Emmanuel Adebayor.
He was taken off after an hour as Liverpool searched for an equaliser.
Mamadou Sakho - 8
The Frenchman looked assured at the back and made some vital blocks.
Dejan Lovren - 9
Lovren was outstanding. He won headers and tackles and worked hard when asked to move to the right after Milner’s red card. Probably his best performance in a Liverpool shirt and if he could replicate that on a weekly basis, nobody would mention the £20m price-tag anymore.
Alberto Moreno - 7
Moreno looked a threat going forward and was unlucky not to score when his effort hit the post. He still needs to make better decisions in terms of when to tackle and when to just stand and jockey an attacker, but on the whole, an improved performance.
Emre Can - 8
Emre had a quiet first half but was excellent in the second. He filled in well at the back and actually looked much better when Liverpool went down to ten men.
Jordan Henderson - 5
An early booking meant he couldn’t go whole-heartedly into challenges and that seemed to affect his game. He was neat and tidy in possession but didn’t really have an impact on the game.
James Milner - 4
Firstly, his play wasn’t very good while he was on the field, in fact, it was poor play by him to give Zaha the ball in the first place before he fouled him.
He was correctly booked for a lunge on Yohan Cabaye and to make the tackle he did on Zaha knowing he’d been booked was, quite frankly, stupid.
Roberto Firmino - 6
He should have been much, much braver on the Palace goal. For a footballer to turn his back there is inexcusable. However, he took full advantage of McCarthy’s mistake with a cool finish.
Adam Lallana - 6
Lallana started the game well and it looked like he was going to carry on where he left off against Man City.
However, he faded and didn’t really have an impact on the game, although he did show a willingness to press as often as he could
Divock Origi - 6
Origi also showed a willingness to work hard and he looks comfortable as a loan striker, which is a vast improvement when compared to how he played in that role earlier in the season.
Despite some nice touches and flashes of promise, he didn’t really get a chance to deliver.
Sub: Philippe Coutinho - 6
Coutinho came on for Flanagan after an hour or so. His ability to keep the ball under pressure is top-class, but there wasn’t really an end product.
Christian Benteke - 10
He almost scored with his first touch.
Then, he won a penalty in the last minute of a game at Selhurst Park by chasing an almost lost cause before getting up and scoring one of the coolest pens ever.
The fact he helped Liverpool beat Palace and simultaneously made Alan Pardew launch his coat in a hissy-fit means he gets a 10.
Kolo Toure - Who cares?
Kolo came on with a few minutes to go, kicked it a few times and then the Reds won.