Who ‘took their chance’ in the first team? Which ‘static’ defender had a game to forget? And who can toast to being Liverpool’s ‘player of the season’ so far after their narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace?

Liverpool end the weekend at the top of the Premier League after their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Reds had plenty of chances, but the only goal of the match came from Diogo Jota in the ninth minute.

Jota found the net with a low finish from 10 yards after being picked out by Cody Gakpo’s cross.

It wasn’t all sailing for the Reds, however, as Palace made five saves from Alisson Becker and his replacement Vitezslav Jaros.

LEWIS STEELE was at Selhurst Park for Mail Sport. Read on for his player ratings.

Diogo Jota (centre) scored the only goal of the match as Liverpool won and stayed top of the table

CRYSTAL PALACE (3-4-2-1)

Dean Henderson-7

Couldn’t do much about the goal due to the power Jota generated with his poked finish. With a great save, Alexander-Arnold managed to deny from distance in the 29th minute. Great stop to deny Salah from close range too after 56 minutes.

Maxence Lacroix-6

Had his hands full with the combination of Jota and Gakpo, especially in the second half when Szoboszlai started making late runs into the penalty area.

Marc Guehi – 6.5

Defended his penalty area well with many crucial interceptions and clearances. Perhaps the only member of Palace’s back three to leave the game with credit in the bank.

Trevoh Chaloba – 4.5

Beaten far too easily for Jota’s goal. The defender was too static and let his marker flash over him to score.

Daniel Munoz-5

Asleep for Jota’s goal as Gakpo was slotted in on his blindside. Substituted midway through the first half due to an injury.

Trevoh Chalobah (right) pictured wrestling for the ball with Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah

Chalobah didn’t have a good game for Palace and he was too static just before Jota scored

Daniel Munoz (center) was subbed off in the first twenty minutes after sustaining an injury

Adam Wharton 5

Hasn’t reached the level he set for himself last season since his move from Blackburn, but he certainly hasn’t been bad. However, Liverpool won the battle in midfield here.

Jefferson Lerma – 5 (booked)

Slightly overrun by players like Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Jones in midfield. It felt like Palace’s midfield had no energy.

Tyrik Mitchell-6

Put in a solid attack against Salah and enjoyed his battle, using physicality several times to thwart the Egyptian. A tough afternoon, however, when Alexander-Arnold also took part in the attacks on the overlap.

Ismaila Sarr – 6 (booked)

Generally ineffective, but he had Palace’s best chance of the first half when he tested Alisson with a well-struck, low shot, their first shot of the match.

No. 3 Tyrick Mitchell had a tough afternoon, although he put in a solid team performance against Salah (left)

Ismaila Sarr (centre) made the first start of his Crystal Palace career in Saturday’s match

Eberechi Eze – 6.5

Didn’t contribute enough at all in the first 60 minutes as the home side did little to get the Selhurst Park crowd dancing. But then it came alive in the closing stages, forcing Alisson to make two big saves. Missed a huge chance when he got through on goal in the 84th minute.

Eddie Nketiah – 5 (booked)

Thought he had scored with less than a minute on the clock when he tapped in a great finish – but he was offside. As with the other attackers, service was sparse.

Substitutes

Nathaniel Clyne (for Munoz, 17) – 6

Jean-Philippe Mateta (for Mitchell, 60) – 6

Shall Hughes (for Wharton, 60) – 6 (booked)

Daichi Kamada (for Chalobah, 80)

Not used: Matt Turner, Caleb Kporha, Jeffrey Schlupp, Franco Umeh, Joel Ward.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1)

Alisson – 7

He didn’t have to make a save until the second minute of first-half stoppage time, when he landed well to deny Sarr.

Trent Alexander Arnold – 6.5

Made some sharp runs inside full-back Mitchell as Salah stayed wide and almost got on the scoresheet with a long-range effort in the 29th minute which was well saved by Henderson.

Ibrahima Konate – 7.5

Growing as a real commanding presence in Liverpool’s backline. Penny for the thoughts of Jarell Quansah, who started the first game of the season but has barely sniffed since. Made several decisive plays when Liverpool were under pressure in the end.

Virgil van Dijk – 6.5

Led his team’s attacks through the lines with powerful passes and also sprayed the ball wide with diagonals past Salah. I didn’t have much to do defensively.

Number 56 Vitezslav Jaros made his Liverpool debut from the bench after Alisson went off injured

Virgil van Dijk (left) and Ibrahima Konate (right) both played the full 90 minutes for Liverpool

Liverpool captain Van Dijk was pictured celebrating his team’s victory after the final whistle

Kostas Tsimikas – 7 (booked)

Nice disguised pass to release Gakpo for Jota’s early goal. Offer something different for Andy Robertson and the Greek full-back is clearly a hit with Liverpool’s new coaches.

Curtis Jones-6.5

A first Premier League start of the season for Jones, who started the campaign with a minor injury. I was on the ball in some dangerous places and was energetic.

Ryan Gravenberch-7

Making a case to be Liverpool’s player of the season so far. Although today was a bit quieter than Wednesday’s victory over Bologna, Gravenberch still played well. The highlight was a one-two with Salah before almost abandoning Jota for a second.

Mohammed Salah – 6.5

Caused Palace problems all afternoon. Had a great chance to score in the 56th minute when he took the ball in his stride and tried to poke it past Henderson, only to see his shot well saved.

Alexis Mac Allister – 6 (booked)

A quieter afternoon for Mac Allister, but he didn’t put a step wrong. Maintains an element of composure in Liverpool’s midfield. But halfway through it was thrown away.

Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch is pushing hard to become Liverpool’s player of the season

Curtis Jones (left) and Alexis Mac Allister imagined they were having an argument during the first half

Salah (left) touched the ball 33 times before being taken away by manager Arne Slot (right)

Cody Gakpo – 7 (booked)

Gave his chance in the starting XI – as he did against Milan at the San Siro and in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. Nice assist for Jota’s goal and Gakpo also followed well back.

Diogo Iota – 7.5 (MOTM)

A neat strike to open the scoring after a nice run of the ball and then a clinical finish. But he could easily have finished with a hat-trick, miscuing one shot in the first half and failing to connect with a header just after the hour mark.

Substitutes

Dominic Szoboszlai (for Mac Allister, 46) – 6

Luis Diaz (for Salah, 72) – 6

Vitezslav Jaros (for Alisson, 79)

Andy Robertson (for Tsimikas, 79)

Wataru Endo (for Jones, 88)

Not used: Joe Gomez, Darwin Nunez, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley.