Patrick Vieira has heaped praise on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool after his Crystal Palace side were beaten 2-0 by the Reds in their second pre-season game in Singapore on Friday afternoon.
Vieira highlighted the enormity of the task of beating Liverpool, given that Klopp's team have ‘challenged’ for the Champions League and Premier League for the last ‘five or six years’.
Goals from Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah saw off the South London outfit as the Merseysiders recovered from their 4-0 defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday in Bangkok.
In his post-match press conference, Palace boss Vieira said: “This is a team that in the last five or six years are fighting to win the Champions League and the Premier League."
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"We knew how challenging this would be."
“But I’m pleased because this was a game that allowed us to take a step forward from the last game we had. We are getting better physically."
"There are still things to work on but I think we took a step forward.
“We are never happy to concede goals when we play football matches. But on the other side, look at the quality of the Liverpool squad. We are not surprised at all."
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"Overall I think it is a step forward for us regarding where we want to be when the first game of the season will come.”
This game was Palace’s third of pre-season, following a draw with League One Accrington Stanley and a 5-4 victory over Millwall.
The Eagles will now travel to Australia to take on Eric Ten Hag’s Manchester United in Melbourne, before playing Leeds in Perth.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have played their second of two games in South East Asia, and will return to Europe to play RB Leipzig in Germany and RB Salzburg in Austria next week.
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They will then face Manchester City in two week’s time in the season’s curtain raising Community Shield at the King Power Stadium.
Topics: Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Patrick Vieira
Alfie Culshaw