Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew was sent off in a controversial manner as Liverpool secured a dramatic comeback win at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ayew received two yellow cards in quick succession in the second half, resulting in a red card and ejection from the game. His first booking came for delaying the restart of play, while the second was for fouling Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott, who was leading a counterattack.
At the time of Ayew’s dismissal, Palace were leading 1-0 courtesy of a penalty conversion by Jean-Philippe Mateta. However, Liverpool quickly capitalised on their numerical advantage, with Mohamed Salah scoring just 98 seconds later to bring the Reds level. It was Salah’s 200th goal for Liverpool and his 150th in the Premier League.
Mo Salah is just the fifth player in history to reach 200 Liverpool goals.
Legend. ??? pic.twitter.com/XLEG7HVZLl
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 9, 2023
The game looked destined for a draw until Elliott produced a stunning strike from the edge of the penalty area deep into stoppage time, securing all three points for Liverpool and lifting them above Arsenal into first place.
While Ayew was applauded by the home crowd as he left the field, he will undoubtedly feel disappointed that his team couldn’t hold on for the win. He will also miss Palace’s next two games, including their upcoming clash against reigning champions Manchester City.
Interestingly, Jordan’s red card comes two weeks after his older brother, Andre Ayew, picked up a red card just two minutes into his Le Havre debut in France.