Liverpool continued their positive start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace tonight at Selhurst Park.
The Reds took the lead via a James Milner Penalty just before the whistle for the end of the first-half, before Sadio Mane scored on the counter attack in stoppage time to seal the result for the Anfield club.
However, Jurgen Klopp admitted after the game that his side had found it difficult against The Eagles direct approach and he was delighted with how man of the match Virgil van Dijk handled the threat of former Liverpool striker Cristian Benteke.
“They play a system they play all the time with high-quality players. They are a really good football team with a simple, but clear plan. They tried to cause us problems with the long balls. I don’t know a lot of centre-backs in the world who can deal with Christian Benteke like Virgil van Dijk did tonight,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“It was difficult for us to be completely safe in this situation but we were there and we helped each other avoid big problems. It was not a brilliant performance – our full-backs can play 70 or 80% better – but I’m very happy with the result.”