Liverpool had to battle for the three points in their recent victory over Crystal Palace.
The Reds claimed a 3-1 win over Palace in the Premier League, but the match was not without controversy.
Virgil van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put Liverpool into a 2-0 lead at half time, before Odsonne Edouard got a goal back for Palace at Selhurst Park.
Then came the controversy in the closing moments, when referee Kevin Friend reversed his decision and awarded a penalty after a collision with Diogo Jota and Vicente Guaita.
Victory for Liverpool leaves the Reds in second place and nine points behind leaders Manchester City, with a game in hand.
Plenty of national media outlets were at Selhurst Park to watch Liverpool’s victory, here is a selection of what they had to say.
AS IT HAPPENED Crystal Palace vs Liverpool - goals, highlights and Jurgen Klopp reaction
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James Gheerbrant, via The Times
“Liverpool survived a stirring second-half performance by Crystal Palace to narrow Manchester City’s lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points, with the chasers holding a game in hand.
“Patrick Vieira’s team gave Liverpool a stern examination, inspired by the vivacious skill of the outstanding winger Michael Olise, but were hobbled by conceding two first-half goals which met scant resistance, then killed off by a horrible penalty decision which embodied an inflexible refereeing culture of slow-motion criminology.
“In the end, Liverpool probably did just about deserve the victory. They could point to the fact that they outshot their opponents by 15 attempts to eight, and reflect with satisfaction on the opening 35 minutes in which, even without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, their movement and the intensity of their press overwhelmed Palace.
“Yet by the end, they were indebted to Alisson, who made four excellent saves.”
Karl Matchett, via The Independent
“Liverpool remain in the Premier League title race after a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace, but this victory – a 10th in a row over this particular opponent – owed far more to some world-class goalkeeping and a very questionable penalty call than to their own fine start to the match.
“The Reds were excellent for the first half an hour, then almost fashioned their own demise for the next 30 minutes. Only Alisson Becker proved an immovable barrier, and allowed the league’s second-placed team to move to within nine points of Manchester City, still with a game in hand.
“Early pressure from the away side came in the form of Diogo Jota almost chesting down to burst through one-on-one and a Jordan Henderson snapshot from the edge of the box, palmed away by Vicente Guaita. It led to a raising of the noise from the home fans – but they were silenced moments later.
“Andy Robertson’s outswinging corner toward the front of the six-yard box was met by a towering leap from Virgil van Dijk, and the unmarked Dutchman powered his header into the top corner, just seven minutes in.
“The chances kept coming but Palace posed a sporadic threat on the break, too, with the Reds eternally thankful to their goalkeeper…
“At last Liverpool responded as the fragility of their lead became apparent, but it still took a contentious – to put it mildly – decision from the team of officials to settle this game.
“A dreadful or farcical call might be more accurate, and would certainly sum up the feelings of the crowd.
“Jota evaded a challenge and rolled the ball past Guaita, but then appeared to step into the ’keeper far more than it being a case of the Spanish stopper sliding into the forward.
“After a lengthy review, a pitchside check and a howl of discontent from the stands, Fabinho dispatched the spot kick to at least serve a reminder to Manchester City that the title fight is not over just yet.”
Ian Herbert, via the Mail Online
“This is the turf, of course, where a title chase against Manchester City was famously extinguished eight years ago as Liverpool, three goals to the good, were undone by a devastating finale. The draw on that Spring evening in 2014 was a brutal object lesson in complacency.
“The dynamics are different this time. City remain so far ahead in the title race that even in January that, as Jurgen Klopp put it before this game, every game is 'a final' for his team. But the victory was a reminder that the same perils old lurk, even with his chastening presence on the touchline. Palace could - and should – have found parity with Liverpool before a questionable late penalty took the game beyond them.
“Klopp can cite the three points, needless to say. Liverpool continue to accumulate them while Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are away at the African Cup of Nations. City's lead at the top is reduced to nine points and it will be six if Liverpool win their game in hand. There might just be life in this title race yet…
“Liverpool, who could not recover anything of their early dominance, were helped out of jeopardy by a questionable VAR decision a few minutes from time.
“Jota ran onto a bouncing ball in the Palace area, missed it entirely as he tried to lift it over Guaita and went to ground quickly when his momentum of his forward movement took him tumbling with the goalkeeper. Fabinho despatched the penalty to Guaita's left.
“Liverpool's visit to the Etihad on April 9 could yet be decisive match in this title race, though the course of this weekend suggests there will be bumps in the road for both times by then.”
Jonathan Liew, via The Guardian
“For a while it felt as if Liverpool were about to let another Premier League title slip from their grasp at Selhurst Park. Jurgen Klopp’s exhausted side looked as if they were playing on fumes. Nine of them had played a gruelling League Cup semi-final against Arsenal on Thursday night.
“Two nights’ sleep, some ice packs, some light training, and then back on the bus. Crystal Palace were 2-1 down but well on top. Chances came and went.
“But Liverpool held on. With a full 18 days until their next league fixture, they gave it one last push and even managed to burgle a third goal, a richly undeserved penalty converted by Fabinho to give them a little breathing space. Now they can rest up a little, recharge their batteries, welcome back Mo Salah and Sadio Mané from international duty. In the meantime, we still just about have a title race.
“Liverpool were scrappy but decisive when it mattered. Virgil van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got the two crucial first-half goals. Jordan Henderson was magnificent in midfield. Curtis Jones never stopped. Trent Alexander-Arnold was beginning to puff even before the end of the first half, but in the dying minutes somehow still managed to produce the pass of the match, a devastating 60-yard diagonal ball from which Diogo Jota won the late penalty.”
