After a poor effort for much of the game, Liverpool ascended to the top of the Premier League with a last-gasp winner from Harvey Elliott against Crystal Palace. Jürgen Klopp’s substitutions paid off and were decisive.

Jarell Quansah, making his second league start, gave away a penalty, allowing Jean-Philippe Mateta to put the hosts ahead in the second half until Mohamed Salah equalized. Jordan Ayew was dismissed for a second bookable infraction, but Crystal Palace appeared to be holding on for a point.

That would have put Liverpool a point behind Arsenal in the Premier League rankings before the Gunners visit Aston Villa later today. Elliott, on the other hand, had other ideas, slamming in a superb stoppage-time winner from outside the penalty area.Liverpool is presently top of the league and has a good chance of staying there till Christmas. Klopp’s team will play Manchester United and Arsenal before then.

WINNERS

Although not many players performed well, Salah scored his 200th goal for Liverpool. Elliott was the winner of the day and the points. This year, he’s proven to be an excellent substitute.

LOSERS

Wataru End was simply too sluggish and was disconnected at halftime to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to shift into midfield. Darwin Nez was the most frequently offside, and Ryan Gravenberch was completely unnoticed.

RATINGS FOR PLAYERS

8 Alisson Becker

Made an outstanding first-half stop and then another late on from Joachim Andersen that would have been a goal against most other goalkeepers in the globe. Crystal Palace didn’t throw much at him, but he handled what he had to exceedingly well.

Trent Alexander-Arnold — 7 points

From fullback and midfield, I tried to push the team forward. Not at his best, but he played well enough and was the source of motivation for his teammates.

6 Jarell Quansah

There were a few of nervous moments on the ball when he rushed into traffic or played a hazardous pass, but he was generally pretty composed, especially considering this was only his second Premier League start. He’ll have learned a lot by playing with Van Dijk. Even if it took a while, the penalty he gave out was a foul.

Van Dijk, Virgil — 7

Not fantastic for the overturned penalty, but it didn’t matter. I played well enough for the rest of the game.

6 Kostas Tsimikas

It had no effect on the game on either end. There were no errors, but there was also little offensive quality.

6 Dominik Szoboszlai

Another low-key performance from the Hungarian. He worked hard as usual but didn’t provide much on-field contribution.

Endo Wataru — 5

Slow and cumbersome in possession, and lucky, given Will Hughes was inches away from winning the ball, that he didn’t lose possession before Van Dijk’s foul resulted in an overturned penalty. Alexis MacAllister was sorely missed.

5 Ryan Gravenberch

He struggled to get into the game, and when he did, his touch frequently let him down. He needs opportunities to improve his match sharpness, but so does Curtis Jones. Giving them that time while yet playing well as a team is difficult.

6 Mohamed Salah

Liverpool usually has a quiet day when he has one. That was the case here, with the Egyptian having little impact until he scored his 200th goal. That’s exactly what he does!

Darwin Nez — 5 points

He was frequently either offside or crowded out. More from a number nine against a swarming defense is required, but the Uruguayan lacks the subtlety to locate half a yard.

5 — Luis Daz

Got into several good positions, especially when Joel Ward was sent off, but failed to capitalize and stayed quiet in the second half. He did a lot of his work in the middle third of the field and didn’t get close enough to goal.

SUBSTITUTES

7 Joe Gomez

It made a difference in the future. It’s still not enough to suggest that Alexander-Arnold in midfield is more than a break-glass alternative, but it was a nice cameo.

6 Ibrahima Konaté

Did good, although it was hardly a game-changing substitution in terms of attacking. Jol Matip’s line-breaking runs were massively missed, and he committed a few of stupid fouls.

6 Cody Gakpo

I gave up a few stupid fouls. It didn’t have the expected impact.

8 Harvey Elliott

Added some much-needed speed to the pitch’s middle. Drives forward and is a fantastic sub. He also scored the game-winning goal.