Liverpool moved up to fourth in the Premier League after a 3-1 triumph over Crystal Palace, but the victory was tinged with uncertainty for Mohamed Salah, who may have played his last match for the club. Alexander Isak, who had not scored since December, opened the scoring, and Andy Robertson doubled Liverpool's lead before Palace controversially reduced the deficit when Daniel Munoz lofted the ball over a struggling goalkeeper, Freddie Woodman. Florian Wirtz then sealed the win with a late strike in stoppage time.
The win also placed Liverpool ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference and level with Manchester United, while extending their lead over sixth‑placed Brighton to eight points. However, the celebratory mood was dampened when Salah, who announced his intention to leave after nine seasons, collapsed just before the hour‑mark with a left‑hamstring injury. Head coach Arne Slot said it was too early to gauge the severity, noting Salah’s habit of staying on the pitch even when his team is comfortably ahead.
"The prognosis is too early to say," Slot explained. "We all know Mo, how hard it is for him to leave the pitch. If we were 6‑0 and I take him out two minutes before the end, he's still like 'I could have scored two more'. For Mo to leave the pitch, that tells you something, but we have to wait and see how bad it is." The match was marked by a series of incidents that added drama to the afternoon at Anfield.
Before kickoff, thousands of Liverpool supporters held up yellow cards to protest the club’s planned ticket‑price increase. Early in the first half, Salah appeared to win a penalty after being brought down by Brennan Johnson, but referee Andy Madley consulted VAR and overturned the decision, ruling that Johnson had merely touched the ball. Isak then capitalised on a rebound from an Alexis Mac Allister shot, controlling the ball and sending a looping effort over Crystal Palace keeper Dean Henderson into the right‑hand corner for his first Premier League goal at Anfield.
Woodman, making his first start for Liverpool in place of the injured Giorgi Mamardashvili and Alisson, performed admirably, denying Jean‑Philippe Mateta twice in quick succession. His second save sparked a swift Liverpool counter‑attack that ended with Curtis Jones laying the ball off to Robertson, who finished confidently to make it 2‑0. Palace struggled to break through Woodman in the first half, with Maxence Lacroix’s header being blocked by a combination of the keeper and the right post.
The second half, however, was defined by injuries. Salah, after a blistering run, went down clutching his hamstring and received a standing ovation from the Anfield crowd. Shortly afterwards, Woodman appeared to injure his knee while making a save from Sarr, only for Munoz to lob the ball over his outstretched arms and into the net, sparking a heated debate over whether play should have been stopped. The third‑choice goalkeeper, who had come on after Woodman’s apparent injury, managed to stay on the field and was fortunate not to concede an equaliser when substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen’s effort struck the inside of the left post.
Wirtz later put the game beyond doubt by smashing a shot off the woodwork and into the net in the dying minutes. Post‑match, Liverpool defender Andy Robertson reflected on the controversial goal: "To be fair to the boy (Munoz), I was the one closest to him and I don’t think he looked up until he hit the ball.
I think he looked up when Freddie was back on his feet and then he went back down. In a game like this, you just hope it doesn’t punish you because it could have done, it could have been 2‑2 just after.
I don’t think anyone’s to blame, it’s part of football." Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman described his own injury: "The grass was really dry and my knee got stuck in the ground. I felt pain on the inside of my knee.
I was unsure what to do really. I didn’t know whether to get up and hobble towards the goal or stay down. It’s a bit of an unclear moment if the goalkeeper goes down.
I thought naturally the game stops, but luckily it didn’t punish us in the end." Slot commented on the referee’s handling of the incident: "Because of the Palace goal, it became a lot more nervy and I don’t think we deserved to concede that goal in that fashion. But Palace were a lot more in the game than the 2‑0 lead showed so it wasn’t a complete surprise to me they could score in the second half. The way we conceded was not as expected.
Is there a game we’ve played where there isn’t a talking point about a referee’s decision? The amount of times I’ve played a game when we’ve been in a promising position and a player is on the floor and the referee has blown his whistle, I cannot even count, and for simulation. We’ve shown we are a fair team. We don’t go to the floor if nothing is wrong.
That happened against Man United when Macca (Mac Allister) was on the floor and Michael Oliver kept on playing and we conceded a goal. Macca had five or six stitches afterwards. I find it hard that referees don’t go into the game knowing we are not a team that pretends we are injured. If we’re on the floor something serious has happened.
I don’t blame them (Palace). The referee should stop the game." Palace manager Oliver Glasner defended his side’s reaction to the disputed goal: "We discussed with the fourth official, with Arne Slot and (Virgil) van Dijk what to do. We had watched it back.
The keeper gets up. If he doesn’t and he has to be subbed then they could have definitely scored in our goal because then it would have been a serious injury.
The ball goes to Daniel Munoz and the keeper raises his arm. He didn’t really see it or it is the same time.
The referee has to stop the game if he believes it is a serious injury but you see the keeper ends the game. To demand the referee has to stop the game can be very dangerous for the future. It was not so clear but I think it was the right decision in the end." Statistically, Liverpool lined up with Woodman in goal, a back four of Szoboszlai, Konaté, Van Dijk and Robertson, midfielders Mac Allister and Jones, and a front line of Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo and Isak. Crystal Palace started with Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Canvot, Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell, Johnson, Mateta and Sarr.
Robertson was named Player of the Match for his decisive contribution. The result keeps Liverpool firmly in the Champions League race, but the lingering question of Salah’s fitness and his impending departure adds a layer of intrigue to the final stretch of the season. The club will need to manage his recovery carefully while maintaining momentum in the league and upcoming cup fixtures.