Mohamed Salah signed off with a record-equalling goal as Liverpool earned a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace before the Anfield champions ceremony got underway.
Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace
Premier League (38) | Anfield
May 25, 2025
Goals
Sarr 9′
Salah 84′ (assist: Gakpo)
Red card: Gravenberch 68′
Team news
With Alexis Mac Allister given the run-in off, Arne Slot otherwise named his strongest possible side with four changes from the 3-2 loss at Brighton.
That saw Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz come in as Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa dropped out, some likely having made their final starts for the club.
As is custom, Liverpool were welcomed onto the pitch with a champions’ guard of honour – but they then returned the favour as they applauded the FA Cup winners with one of their own.
First half
With tens of thousands of supporters gathering outside the stadium it was no surprise the party atmosphere drowned out anything else playing out on the pitch.
That was clear as Ismaila Sarr put Palace a goal up within the first minutes with those in the stands not missing a beat as they continued to run through the Anfield songbook.
Liverpool were still the dominant side in terms of possession and it was Diaz who posed the biggest threat, going close with a powerful long-range effort.
Diaz was denied by an excellent save from Dean Henderson after improvising a finish from Salah’s deft ball through, while the offside flag denied Jean-Philippe Mateta after he beat Alisson at the other end.
Half-time: Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace
Second half
Slot threw Anfield a curveball by introducing Trent Alexander-Arnold at half-time, the departing right-back taking over from Conor Bradley and receiving a muted applause from those not still on the concourse.
Liverpool should have had a penalty soon after the restart, with Salah furious as his shot was deflected wide by the hand of Maxence Lacroix, but referee and VAR waved the incident away.
Two more substitutions brought a rejig of the system as Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez replaced Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai – a 4-2-3-1 with Ryan Gravenberch at centre-back and Alexander-Arnold inverting into midfield.
That didn’t last long, with Gravenberch sent off for bringing down Daichi Kamada as the last man, prompting Wataru Endo to come on for Diaz.
But there was still time for Salah’s moment, powering the ball home from Cody Gakpo‘s knock-down to equal the Premier League record for the most goal involvements in a single season.
TIA Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah
Referee: Darren England
Liverpool: Alisson; Bradley (Alexander-Arnold 46′), Konate (Jota 61′), Van Dijk, Robertson (Elliott 85′); Gravenberch, Szoboszlai (Nunez 61′), Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz (Endo 85′)
Subs not used: Kelleher, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Lerma; Munoz, Kamada, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze, Mateta
Subs: Turner, Ward, Kporha, Devenny, Franca, Esse, Nketiah
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