Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace: Salah rescues Liverpool as Reds lift the title | OneFootball

On the day they lifted their 20th league title, Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in front of a jubilant Anfield crowd.

Ismaïla Sarr handed Palace the lead inside ten minutes, capitalising on the open space in Liverpool’s defence.

A red card for Ryan Gravenberch in the second half didn’t stop Liverpool or Mohamed Salah from finding a goal. The Egyptian levelled the score in the 84th minute as he sealed a fourth golden boot award.

As it happened

It was a day of celebration at Liverpool as the Premier League champions hosted the FA Cup winners. Arne Slot’s side received their customary guard of honour from Crystal Palace before kick-off and returned the gesture to congratulate their opponents on their domestic success.

However, The Eagles quickly dampened the mood of the Anfield crowd by taking a surprise lead in the 9th minute. Tyrick Mitchell pounced on an inaccurate pass and, after a sharp turn, played an incisive pass into Ismaïla Sarr. With the middle of Liverpool’s defence vacated, Sarr entered the box under no pressure and calmly slotted his effort past Alisson.

The Reds have been off the boil since securing their 20th title and it took until the 26th minute for them to work a meaningful effort in their final home fixture of the season. A clever reverse pass from Dominik Szoboszlai found Luis Díaz inside the penalty area, but after cutting inside, he curled a shot just wide of the post. The Colombian came close to equalising again moments later when he headed Ryan Gravenberch’s floated cross over the bar.

Palace, who came into the match unbeaten in seven games in all competitions, looked dangerous and were denied a second goal half an hour into the contest. Mitchell, on the front foot again, found Jean-Philippe Mateta close to goal, and the Frenchman found the back of the net but the offside flag was raised immediately.

Mohamed Salah came into the match looking to break the record for the most goal contributions in a single Premier League campaign. His delightful chip almost earned him an assist, but Dean Henderson produced an incredible save to divert Diaz’s instinctive strike in the 37th minute.

The champions started the second half brightly in search of an equaliser. After working it from left to right, Szoboszlai teed up Salah but the Egyptian’s first-time effort was blocked by Maxence Lacroix.

Trent Alexander-Arnold came on at half-time, to mass applause, and showed exactly what Liverpool will be missing next season. His pinpoint pass from his own half found Darwin Núñez through on goal in the 65th minute. The Uruguayan attempted to lift it over the Palace goalkeeper, but Henderson was on call again as he came rushing out to keep his side’s lead intact.

Up the other end, the away side had their first chance of the second half. Sarr brilliantly brought the ball down in Liverpool’s box and struck a powerful volley towards goal, but Alisson matched the strike with a brilliant diving save.

Liverpool’s challenge was made even more difficult as Gravenberch was sent off for bringing down Daichi Kamada on the halfway line. The Dutch midfielder became the second Liverpool player to be red-carded on the final matchday of a Premier League season, after Steven Gerrard v Chelsea in 2002-03.

Despite being down to ten men, Liverpool remained on top. In the 75th minute, Andy Robertson lofted a pass in behind for Cody Gakpo who managed to bring the ball down and lay it off for Diogo Jota. The striker, on his weak foot, was denied by the post.

In the 84th minute, Liverpool eventually found the equaliser through their talisman, Mo Salah. Nuñez’s cross was headed down by Gakpo into the path of Salah, who scissor-kicked an effort into the top corner courtesy of a wicked deflection. The goal was Salah’s 29th of the season, taking him to 47 goal involvements in the season, equalling Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s record.

Eddie Nketiah had the chance to win the match in injury time, but his scuffed strike was held onto by Alisson as both sides happily settled for a point.

After a momentous season, both clubs will celebrate their respective honours with a trophy parade in front of their supporters on Monday.

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