Report: Late Benteke penalty sees 10-man Reds beat Palace

Joe Ledley fired the Eagles into a 48th-minute lead when he rifled into the back of the net from the edge of the area following a goalmouth scramble.

The Reds’ hopes of taking something back to Merseyside suffered a blow when James Milner was sent off just after the hour mark for a second yellow card, but they managed to draw level.

Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy miskicked an attempted clearance straight to Roberto Firmino on the edge of the area, who capitalised fully by sliding the ball home.

Liverpool pressed in search of a winner and after Alberto Moreno struck the post from range, Benteke sealed the three points as he kept his nerve to convert a spot-kick at the death.

Jürgen Klopp elected to make two changes to his starting line-up in London, with Mamadou Sakho and Moreno coming in for Nathaniel Clyne and Kolo Toure from the team that began against Manchester City in midweek.

Buoyed by the emphatic manner of that win over Manuel Pellegrini’s men, Liverpool went into the game aiming to secure a third successive Barclays Premier League victory for the first time this season.

Indeed, the visitors made a bright start to the contest and an intricate move opened up space for Firmino inside the box early on, but his drive across the face of goal intended for a teammate was repelled by McCarthy.

And from that, Palace broke swiftly and Emmanuel Adebayor squared across the Liverpool box to the unmarked Yannick Bolasie; however, Simon Mignolet produced a brave stop to thwart the forward at close quarters.

It was proving an open encounter in the early exchanges and after Jordan Henderson had an effort blocked by a defender, Adebayor brought a near-post stop out of Mignolet before the hosts’ No.25 cannoned a header against the crossbar from yards out.

Palace threatened again on the 24-minute mark when Wilfried Zaha’s pass in behind picked out the run of Yohan Cabaye, who curled first-time into the side netting.

At the other end, Divock Origi clipped an edge-of-the-box strike onto the roof of the net while Milner had an attempt from a free-kick loop off target after striking Bolasie in the wall.

Still, for all the exertions of both teams, the half concluded without a goal – but that statistic would change four minutes after the re-start.

A corner for the home team resulted in a penalty box scramble before Damien Delaney’s blocked shot rolled invitingly for Ledley on the edge of the area, who subsequently drilled into the bottom corner.

Klopp’s response saw Philippe Coutinho introduced for Jon Flanagan on the hour – but Liverpool’s hopes of a comeback were dashed immediately after when Milner was sent off for a second bookable offence following a challenge on Zaha.

Nevertheless, Liverpool did go agonisingly close to a leveller when Firmino’s pass released Adam Lallana into space inside the box. The No.20 pulled the ball back for Origi, but he hammered wide at the near post under pressure.

But parity was restored on 72 minutes, albeit via a touch of fortune. McCarthy miskicked his attempt to clear from a routine back pass and succeeded only in finding Firmino on the edge of the area. The Brazilian did the rest, neatly tucking home.

With the Reds now in the ascendancy, despite their numerical disadvantage, Benteke was sent on for Origi – and could have scored with his very first touch, but his attempted volley from Dejan Lovren’s knockdown at a corner was straight at McCarthy.

Moreno was left clutching his head in his hands as time ebbed away when his skimming shot from 25 yards rebounded off the foot of the post with McCarthy beaten.

However, with just seconds remaining, the visitors were given the opportunity to win the contest when they were awarded a penalty after Benteke went down under Delaney’s challenge in the box.

The Belgian did the honours himself, keeping his nerve to nonchalantly steer home to seal the win.