Klopp: Liverpool players believed more than me

A delighted Jurgen Klopp believes coming back to win 2-1 with 10 men at Crystal Palace can be a “big moment” for his Liverpool side.

Liverpool looked set to suffer their fourth straight Premier League loss to Palace after Joe Ledley opened the scoring and James Milner collected his second yellow card in the 62nd minute.

But an error from home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy allowed Roberto Firmino to equalise and the ambition of Klopp’s side despite their numerical disadvantage was rewarded deep into stoppage time when Damien Delaney brought down Christian Benteke in the area and the Belgium striker converted from the spot.

“After this intensive time we’ve had, against a well-rested team [the performance was] really good, we played really good,” Klopp told Sky Sports.

“In the first half were were not clear enough and again we conceded after a set-play

“We started really good in the first half but forgot to shoot on the goal.

“We had to strike back and with 10 players that was brilliant what we did.

“It was an unlucky situation for the defender but with his knee and his foot up it’s a clear penalty, otherwise Christian Benteke is in a very position to shoot. 2-1. it’s a perfect day.”

Klopp reshuffled his Liverpool team into an ambitious 3-4-2 setup in Milner’s absence but he credited the players’ battling qualities as a bigger factor in the win than his tactical tinkering.

“At this moment you have to try and do a little bit from the outside but the rest is passion,” he said.

“Offensively, that is not a problem. You don’t need 11 players to play good offensively.

“For defence you always need more passion than formation.

“I thought we had got away with a draw so I brought on Kolo Toure to save the result. You take what you can get.

“The players believed more today. You saw it in each situation, we had a lot of good moments.”

Liverpool are now six points behind fourth-place Manchester City, who they beat convincingly 3-0 in midweek, having claimed three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time this season.

“The lads did great and the third league win in a row… I can’t believe how that feels, it is really good – a big moment for us,” Klopp added.

“We fought for it. I love this.”