Jurgen Klopp praises key players but admits Liverpool weren't up to scratch in Crystal Palace win

The German saw his side run out 2-0 victors in south London after a first-half penalty from James Milner followed by a goal at the death from Sadio Mane

Jurgen Klopp praised his expensive additions but admitted Liverpool were far from brilliant as they snuck past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The German saw his side run out 2-0 victors in south London after a first-half penalty from James Milner followed by a goal at the death from Sadio Mane as the hosts pushed desperately for an equaliser.

Virgil van Dijk and Alisson were both outstanding for the visitors, with the Dutch defender in particular standing out, and Klopp was keen to sing the praises of the £70m centre-back.

“Virgil's performance was really, really good,” he said.

“Quality costs a specific price. Cars are like that. Lots of things are like that. Players too. Nobody thinks about that now, which is good.

“In this market at the moment, he's at least worth it even if it's not too cheap. He loves playing with these boys.”

Alisson, too, was impressive in his first Premier League game away from Anfield.

“The free-kick save was outstanding. I thought it was in. Quite impressive.

“And the header from Benteke as well. As part of that, around each set-piece, Palace block the goalkeeper and Van Dijk, and yet they were mostly decisive still. But it was not a brilliant football game from us.

“We don't have to make it something it was not. It was a big step. Everyone knows that when we are not brilliant, we usually lose. Today we weren't brilliant but we won.”