Jurgen Klopp reveals private message to ‘world-class’ Alisson after win at Crystal Palace

Liverpool closed the gap to Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table to nine points after a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Reds took control during a dominant 35-minute spell when Virgil Van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain converted from a pair of Andy Robertson assists.

But Palace struck back through  Odsonne Edouard at the start of the second period and it took a string of saves from Alisson Becker to keep the Reds ahead before Fabinho converted a controversial penalty late on to wrap up the points.

And after the match, manager Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his Brazilian goalkeeper.

The Liverpool boss told Sky Sports: “I said to him just now, ‘thank you for saving our backside again’. He said, ‘that’s my job’.

“Of course it is very helpful to have a world-class goalkeeper at the back!’

A Jekyll and Hyde performance from Liverpool

However, Klopp struggled to explain why Liverpool lost their rhythm after dominating the opening exchanges and allowed Palace back into a game.

The Eagles had more than enough chances to take at least a point from the match.

It had been a taxing week for Klopp’s Carabao Cup finalists, who booked their place at Wembley with a 2-0 win over Arsenal on Thursday.

The Reds are also without AFCON trio Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita.

Klopp said:  "The first 35 minutes was brilliant and some of the best stuff we have played all season. Exactly the way we want to play and if somebody had an explanation for what happened after 35 minutes, I would like it..

"I don’t understand but 100% a bit of a fatigue problem but we are not the first team to have that. Obviously after being 2-0 up and after a super intense week, we just decided to have a little break on the pitch but that is not possible.

"In these moments the chances Palace had were all set up by us pretty much, we gave the ball away in the wrong moment and these sorts of things, so that is what happened but why?

"If we had played the 90 minutes how we started it would have been a tough afternoon for Crystal Palace and it could have been a draw or whatever, so I am over the moon with this result, it was so important for us."

What’s next for Liverpool?

The Reds have some time to recover as we head into the international break.

Liverpool are next in action when they host Cardiff City in the FA Cup fourth round on 6 February.