Monday 9 November 2015 10:05, UK
Alan Pardew was full of praise for his Crystal Palace side after their "deserved" 2-1 victory at Liverpool on Sunday.
Goals in either half from Yannick Bolasie and Scott Dann earned the Eagles a third consecutive Premier League win against the Reds, and also inflicted Jurgen Klopp's first defeat as Liverpool manager.
Liverpool headed into the game at Anfield on the back of a Europa League clash away to Rubin Kazan, and Pardew was quick to highlight the influence that had on his side's blistering start to the game.
"The win felt good, it was a really great game - a top, top Premier League game," he told Sky Sports. "As an away team, we just deserved to win.
"I've played in the Europa League and I thought Liverpool might be a bit sleepy. No matter what you do, with a team that has a journey like that, it's difficult.
"We didn't score in that [early] period, we scored right at the end of it and that was our mistake really, because we backed off at that point and for 15, 20 minutes, we let Liverpool dominate us.
"We didn't trust how good we are as a team. Half-time was important as the goal was coming. It came just before half time, and it didn't surprise me.
"But at half-time, I thought we could win the game if we went toe-to-toe with them. That was the message and my players delivered."
Despite breaking the deadlock at Anfield, Palace came under constant bombardment from a Liverpool side who would have been disappointed not to have got something from the game.
And Pardew, while acknowledging the Reds' positive display, highlighted his side's defensive performance as key to their victory.
"Liverpool played really well today and so did we," he added. "It was real hammer and tongue, particularly in the second half.
"You have to defend well at Liverpool, and everybody defended well. Even [Wilfried] Zaha, who was outstanding today, did some great defensive work for us.
"You've got to do that. You're not going to win at Liverpool unless you defend well."
