WITH the last international break out of the way for the calendar year, Crystal Palace and Liverpool fought out an evenly contested match which saw the Merseysiders nick a 2-1 victory in a fashion that is fast becoming their trademark.

The most significant team news surrounded Mo Salah who, having missed his country’s international matches through injury, was named on the bench as Reds manager Jurgen Klopp sought to ease his striker back into action after the Egyptian completed only one full training session in the last two weeks.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was his replacement after enjoying a bout of good form for club and country, scoring for both in recent matches.