Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch believe Jordan Ayew should NOT have been sent off for Crystal Palace in their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool – with the former Reds striker admitting the dismissal was a ‘massive factor’ in Jurgen Klopp’s side’s turnaround
- Jordan Ayew received a second yellow card for a soft tackle on Harvey Elliot
- Liverpool took full advantage of their numerical advantage with two late goals
- It won't hurt Arsenal to have Arteta out of sight at Villa Park It all starts
Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch agreed Jordan Ayew should not have received a second yellow card in Liverpool's dramatic late win over Crystal Palace.
The pendulum of the draw swung in favor of Jurgen Klopp's side after the Ghanaian's controversial send-off in the 75th minute, with the Reds taking victory after two late goals from Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliot.
Ayew had received an equally unfair booking earlier in the half for blocking a Liverpool free-kick and was given his marching orders after stopping an attack.
Former Reds striker Crouch admitted he could not have foreseen Liverpool's turnaround and disagreed with the sacking.
“You just didn't see that coming at all, especially after the performance in the first half.” He said this to TNT Sports. 'Palace grew into the match and clearly got the goal, but they fell deeper and deeper.
Rio Ferdinand (centre) and Peter Crouch (right) disagreed with Andy Madley's decision to show Jordan Ayew a second yellow card late in the match
The Palace forward was sent off for a foul on Harvey Elliot near the halfway line at Selhurst Park
Madley surprised everyone in the ground when he produced a second yellow card before showing the Ghanaian a red card
'You have to say the red card was a huge factor. I didn't think it was a red card, but Liverpool took advantage of it.'
His fellow pundit Ferdinand agreed but was keen to praise Liverpool for their ability to bounce back.
'I didn't agree with the red card, but you have to say Liverpool are used to this. This becomes part of their season now, this becomes a story of their season – it comes from winning games.” He said.
'There is resilience in this team, there is maturity in this team, there is experience, but also the ability to score goals at critical points in games.'
Palace had taken the lead just before the match when Jean-Philippe Mateta successfully converted a penalty.
But Ayew's send-off completely changed the game as Salah scored his 200th goal for the club within a minute of leaving.
Substitute Elliot then produced a moment of magic in the first minute of stoppage time, picking up the ball from deep before curling in his shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The victory takes Klopp's side to the top of the Premier League ahead of Arsenal's visit to Villa Park on Saturday evening. Palace remain fifteenth, seven points ahead of the relegation zone.