Mohamed Salah scored late to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in their final home game of the Premier League season.
Arne Slot made four changes to the team that lost 3-2 away to Brighton. Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz all returned to the starting line-up. Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa dropped out, and some of them may have played their last game for the club.
Before the game started, both teams showed respect to each other with a guard of honour. Liverpool walked out to applause as champions, and they also clapped for Crystal Palace, who recently won the FA Cup.
But the visitors quickly quieted the celebrations with an early goal. Ismaila Sarr capitalised on a fast attack and fired Palace ahead within minutes. Still, the Anfield crowd kept the party going, singing loudly throughout.
Liverpool dominated the ball and tried to find a way through, with Luis Diaz looking sharp. He forced a strong save from Dean Henderson with a powerful strike from outside the box. Another chance came when Salah picked him out with a clever pass, but Diaz’s finish was blocked well.
Palace also had a goal ruled out for offside after Mateta beat Alisson.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came on for the second half, replacing Conor Bradley. The home fans gave him a modest welcome, with many still coming back from half-time.
Soon after the restart, Liverpool felt they should’ve had a penalty. Salah’s shot was deflected wide by the hand of Maxence Lacroix, but the referee and VAR decided to play on.
Slot brought on Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez to freshen up the attack, while Ryan Gravenberch dropped into defence and Trent moved into midfield.
But the new system was quickly disrupted. Gravenberch was shown a red card for bringing down Daichi Kamada as the last man. Wataru Endo came in to add stability, replacing Diaz.
Despite being a man down, Liverpool kept pushing. Their efforts paid off when Gakpo rose to meet a cross and knocked it down for Salah, who smashed it in for the equaliser. That goal also saw Salah equal the Premier League record for most goal involvements in a single season.
