Crystal Palace vs Liverpool: Alan Pardew questions referee appointment for defeat to Reds

Crystal Palace 2 Liverpool 4: Andre Marriner awarded a controversial penalty in the corresponding fixture last season

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Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew queried why Andre Marriner was the referee for his team's 4-2 home defeat by Liverpool after his controversial last-minute award of a penalty in the corresponding fixture last season.

Ironically that penalty was won and converted by Christian Benteke, giving Liverpool a 2-1 win before he left them for Palace this summer.

Pardew, who claimed at the time that the striker had dived, said: “I'm not questioning the integrity of the referee, I'm questioning why he was given the game. It was a really contentious decision last year and then he has four penalty claims today, three of them for us. It's added pressure on him and I didn't think he needed that.”

After a third successive defeat – in none of which they have played badly - Pardew found positives in Palace's second-half performance but admitted their defending left something to be desired. “To concede two set plays in unusual for us, that is something we need to address,” he said.

“A close game but a deserved win in the end” was Liverpool's manager Juergen Klopp's succinct and indisputable summary.

“I was not too happy with the start. Since I am at Liverpool I am happy with the character of my boys. We cannot strike back every day, but we are good enough to find a solution in situations like this. “

Jordan Henderson, impressive as Liverpool's captain, was predictably downbeat about the title challenge.

“We've just to concentrate on our game, keep that momentum going and then see where we are at the end of the season,” he said. We're not getting ahead of ourselves.”

Unbeaten since that unlikely early defeat at Burnley, however, they are moving ahead of most other contenders.