Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson admits it was crucial they found a way to win and maintain the pace in the title race on Saturday despite not being at their best.
Having conceded just 10 goals in 22 Premier League matches, Liverpool uncharacteristically shipped three at home to Crystal Palace in a chaotic 4-3 victory at Anfield.
Having been 1-0 down at half-time – despite dominating – the hosts twice bounced back to go 2-1 and 4-2 up in a manic conclusion which also saw stand-in right-back James Milner sent off for a second bookable offence.
It was the first time Jurgen Klopp’s side had conceded three in a league match since victory over Manchester City by the same scoreline a year ago and, while Henderson was not happy with the performance, he accepted the result – that briefly extended their lead at the top to seven points – was the priority.
“Every game is massive. It’s an important three points again,” he told liverpoolfc.com.
“It was a tough game and not what we would want in terms of performance – we can be much better in controlling (the match).
“You’re not going to play as well as you’d like in every single game so when you’re not flying or playing as well as you can, it’s important to find a way to win and keep going right until the end and we managed to do that.”
“We’ll analyse the game to see what we didn’t do as well but, overall, we’ve got to be delighted again with the result.
“There are still positives to come out of it but still a lot to improve.
“It’s the Premier League, it’s tough and you need to grind results out – that’s what we did.”