Liverpool vs Crystal Palace. Premier League Asia Trophy Semi-Final.
Hong Kong Stadium.
Wednesday 19 July 2017 18:53, UK
Dominic Solanke scored his first goal for Liverpool to help secure a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League Asia Trophy on Wednesday.
The England Under-21 international fired in a brilliant strike in the 61st minute to open his Liverpool scoring account after his summer move from Chelsea.
Divock Origi netted the second in the 79th minute to set up a meeting with Leicester in the final of the tournament in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Palace will face West Brom after they were beaten on penalties by the Foxes in the first match of the day at the Hong Kong Stadium.
New Palace manager Frank De Boer opted for three at the back in his first match against Premier League opposition, with Andros Townsend and Jeffrey Schlupp as wing-backs.
The duo, along with the lively Wilfried Zaha, provided Palace's attacking outlets, although they were on the back foot for much of the match.
Daniel Sturridge had Liverpool's first chance in the 13th minute when his shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold's low cross was blocked by Scott Dann.
Sturridge's clever backheeled pass then teed up Adam Lallana, but he blazed over the bar.
The pacey Mohamed Salah looked threatening for the Reds and fired a left-footed shot over after cutting in from the right.
Keshi Anderson saw a shot saved at the other end after a reverse pass from Townsend, before Wayne Hennessey kept out an effort across goal from Sturridge.
Liverpool made a raft of changes at the start of the second half and one of them, Philippe Coutinho, went close with a shot from outside the box in the 54th minute.
Solanke broke the deadlock on the hour mark when he collected Origi's clever flick and fired across goal and into the bottom corner.
Palace struggled to create chances despite an impressive display from Zaha, who vented his frustration after being clipped from behind by Marko Grujic.
Minutes later Grujic shot wide from distance before Origi scored Liverpool's second, finishing from close range after Coutinho's shot was blocked.
Salah was impressive for Liverpool in the 50 minutes he played, showing off his pace with a couple of darting runs and looking lively around the box.
However, Zaha was vibrant throughout for Palace, shaking off tackles and skipping past Liverpool several tackles. He suffered a slight injury scare when he was brought down by Grujic in the second half, but played on and will certainly be a key player for De Boer this season.
Liverpool will play Leicester in the final of the Premier League Asia Trophy at 1.30pm BST on Saturday, July 22. The Reds then head to Germany to face Hertha Berlin on Saturday, July 29.
Palace face West Brom in the Premier League Asia Trophy on Saturday at 11am BST before travelling to France to play Metz on July 29.
