Liverpool holds off Palace fightback to close gap on Man City

Fabinho scored a late penalty to give Liverpool a victory that lifted it to 48 points, nine behind City, which was held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton.

Liverpool's Fabinho (No.3) celebrates scoring its third goal with Jordan Henderson, Takumi Minamino and Roberto Firmino.

Liverpool had to withstand a spirited second-half fightback from Crystal Palace before emerging with a 3-1 win on Sunday to close the gap on Premier League leader Manchester City to nine points.

Virgil Van Dijk gave Liverpool an early lead with a powerful header from a corner, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added a second in the 32nd minute, controlling a superb cross-field pass from Andy Robertson before thumping the ball home.

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Palace pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half when Jeffrey's Schlupp's pass to Jean-Philippe Mateta sliced open the Liverpool defence, and he squared the ball for Odsonne Edouard to fire into an empty net.

Palace poured forward looking for an equaliser but Fabinho scored a late penalty to give Liverpool a victory that lifted it to 48 points, nine behind City, which was held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton on Saturday. Palace is 13th on 24 points.