Jota overtakes leaders Liverpool past Palace but Alisson leaves due to injury | first division

What is football for apart from its wave of emotions? And if it was love at first sight with Jürgen Klopp, when will the Liverpool Do the faithful fall in love with Arne Slot? After an excellent start to the season, at the top of the table when Arsenal and Manchester City were supposed to be far away, he could hardly have done a better job. There is a distance left. Are fans too cool for school? Probably. A love hangover from those last days in which Klopp ended in such a bittersweet way? Almost certainly.

On Slot's part, there will be no pogo on the sideline, nor bear shouts, although it can be demonstrative from the technical area. The will to win remains as evident as Klopp's. The results so far are excellent, they have only conceded two league goals all season, but their horizons are much broader. “I hope to do more special things than just winning nine out of 10, but it's a good start,” Slot said.

He chooses to do things differently. “We don't care what the outside world thinks of us,” said captain Virgil van Dijk after a victory achieved with little pyrotechnics apart from Diogo Jota's goal. “We want to try to challenge, compete, win and be successful.”

After last season's improvements with Oliver Glasner, these are sincere fights for Crystal Palace. They started as one of five clubs yet to achieve a victory. The wait continues, even if their coach said: “The way we played in the second half encourages us.”

Michael Olise is deeply missed. Eberechi Eze finds it much more difficult to find space. Replaced by Will Hughes in the second half, a change that brought with it an improvement, there were only fleeting signs of the player Adam Wharton displayed in the spring. However, he played a part in the play that could have put Palace ahead in the first minute. Wharton supplied Ismaïla Sarr, but Eddie Nketiah triggered the offside trap to score.

Slot's selection paid off and his team scored the winning goal in the ninth minute. Kostas Tsimikas had replaced Andy Robertson; The ball from the left back found Cody Gakpo, restored to the flank role in which he became famous, to set up Jota. Liverpool's best finisher got ahead of Trevoh Chalobah, Palace's debutant. Three simple football decisions, each of which pays off. “You want to show what you've got,” Gakpo said, after his first first division start of season.

For Glasner the bad news continued to roll when defender Daniel Muñoz limped off. Liverpool sought a second, playing a patient alien during the ecstatic romance of the Klopp era. As multiple corners piled up, his players looked to Aaron Briggs, Slot's set piece coach, for guidance. Van Dijk headed in towards the end of a first half that calmed Selhurst Park.

Slot's second half strategy was deep, inviting pressure to activate counterattacks. Perhaps what he has lost in affection until now is that dispassionate pragmatism. Glasner reacted and Hughes and Jean-Philippe Mateta joined the attack. Palace finally began to bubble. “We could have done better in the second,” Van Dijk said. “But we knew they would come out with a little pressure on the ball.”

Still, Jota should have closed the contest. Trent Alexander-Arnold hit him with a free kick on the head, but the forward shot horribly wide. Would Liverpool live to regret that? Palace had a legitimate right to call for a penalty when Van Dijk grabbed Marc Guéhi with both hands, but VAR ruled that it was “not held”.

“A clear penalty,” declared Glasner, dismissing the PGMOL's explanation on social media. “I read it but I don't agree.” He took solace in knowing that his team had “created a lot of chances against the best defensive team in the league.”

Eze then forced a save from Alisson, who dodged the resulting corner, the last of the Brazilian's actions. The injured goalkeeper was replaced by Vitezslav Jaros. The Czech made his debut for Liverpool and Caoimhín Kelleher was also absent.

As Eze galloped towards the goal, Jaros' first test came. He saved well, clutching the ball to his chest. Liverpool could close out the victory and continue that exemplary start. If the thrill of the chase isn't like that of the last guy, your chances of success are as real as they were in the wild and crazy years.