Roy Hodgson 'regrets' Christian Benteke misses on Groundhog Day for Crystal Palace vs Liverpool

Tom Doyle31 March 2018

Roy Hodgson was left to regret two costly misses by Christian Benteke as Liverpool fought back for a 2-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Mohamed Salah scored his 37th goal of the season in all competitions as Liverpool came from behind to secure a vital victory over Palace.

Sadio Mane had scored the Reds' equalising goal before being fortunate to avoid a red card, and the visitors capitalised by securing all three points with Salah's 84th-minute effort to maintain their pursuit of a second-place finish.

Palace led at half-time following Luka Milivojevic's penalty but after conceding another late goal at Selhurst Park they remain at risk of relegation from the Premier League.

REUTERS

Benteke is facing a fight to make Belgium's World Cup squad after a poor season in front of goal, and missed two simple chances with the scores level at 1-1 in the second half before Salah struck to down the Eagles.

Palace manager Hodgson - who has seen his side suffer tight defeats against Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United and now Liverpool in recent weeks - told BBC Sport after the game: "Yes it is a bit of a groundhog day playing against these top teams.

"We actually played quite well in the second half and created some good chances, but we also conceded two goals at the other end.

"What happens in the penalty area is the difference in the game; whether it’s a mistake by defenders or excellent play by strikers to create something.

"Of course we do regret those two (Benteke) chances and other opportunities we had when they were defending desperately, but they had already scored both of their goals.

In Pictures | Crystal Palace vs Liverpool | 31/03/2018

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"I don’t really like spending my time discussing refereeing decisions and what is right and wrong because that’s all part of the game. The fact is playing against 10 men for the last 25 minutes may not have given us an advantage anyway.

"It has been disappointing these past few weeks where the team has done well and deserved something form the game but come away with nothing.

"I don’t subscribe to the fact that the next six games will be easy because the teams around us will be as difficult to beat as Liverpool today.

"I can only hope we start scoring the goals soon and don’t continue to suffer from the mistakes that cost us today."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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