“This was another formidable Liverpool performance, which showed just why they can be so hard to beat. In midfield Ryan Gravenberch was impressive and, alongside the Dutchman, the Liverpudlian Curtis Jones meant that this was a dominant afternoon. Liverpool finished the game at the top of the Premier League albeit nursing a couple of injuries.

“Goalkeeper Alisson Becker was withdrawn injured in the second half, with what looked like a muscle tear in his right leg that may require some time out. His deputy, Caoimhin Kelleher, was missing with illness and so Czech 23-year-old Vitezslav Jaros was given an unlikely debut from the bench. Alexis Mac Allister also came off at half-time but it is Alisson, so crucial to the way in which Liverpool play, who will be the key concern.”

Over on The Times, Tom Allnutt pens: “It’s nine wins out of ten now for Liverpool under Arne Slot and while this was more a six out of ten performance, that was all it really needed to be.

“For 70 minutes, Liverpool were in cruise control here against a strangely subdued and sluggish Crystal Palace, who did eventually awake from their slumber in the final quarter but left themselves too much to do.

“Liverpool’s only fault was they were still in sight at that point, after Diogo Jota had poked them into the lead in the ninth minute before he and others squandered a handful of chances to make their total dominance count.”

Analysis on The Guardian‘s pages comes from Barney Ronay, who writes: “On a hazy, dreamy afternoon at Selhurst Park, all soft sun and soft air, Liverpool produced something that seemed to fit the day, an exercise in control and the problems of control.

“A 1-0 victory means they will stay at the top of the league heading towards the end of October. This is a high‑functioning entity now. They have a good manager, good players, an excellent central midfield and the fewest goals conceded in the league.

“At the same time Liverpool also somehow ended up hanging on at times in the second half of a game that was like an expertly staged act of euthanasia where the corpse inexplicably starts waking up after an hour trying to have a chat about things.

“First came the anaesthetic. For 45 minutes this was high-grade Coldplay football, a controlled, top-spec stadium experience. Score. Wait. Win. This has been the best of Arne Slot’s developing Liverpool so far. Six of their eight wins have followed that pattern of take the lead, control possession and win.

“By half-time Liverpool were 1-0 up, with 73% possession and a sense of pieces being pushed around a board. They weren’t exactly dominant. Dominant suggests some kind of struggle, or at least a secondary element that needs dominating. Instead Liverpool occupied Selhurst Park like a team of peacekeepers.

“This was a team in eco mode, regenerative braking football, a game of mature and sensible throttle management. That style also raises its own issues. Palace will be criticised for lacking aggression in the first half, during which they didn’t commit a single foul. But Liverpool also bring this on. They’re basically chloroforming you in those moments. Give in to it. Sleep.”

And, finally, writing on the ECHO’s pages, Ian Doyle muses: “It had been the one area of the team that remained untouched by Arne Slot during the Premier League season. But the midfield that formed the foundation of Liverpool’s run to the summit was finally given a tweak here, with Curtis Jones making his first Premier League start since the defeat at Everton back in April, replacing Dominik Szoboszlai in the number 10 role. Come the start of the second half, however, both were on the pitch after Alexis Mac Allister departed following an injury-hampered opening period.

“A first examination of the engine room strength in depth Liverpool will require if they are to challenge on several fronts, it was a success, Jones confident in both positions while Wataru Endo’s canny and experienced cameo during the closing stages suggests he still very much has a part to play for Liverpool this campaign.

“The midfield standout once again, however, was Ryan Gravenberch, particularly during a first half in which his growing range of abilities were to the fore.

“He overshadowed Palace rival Adam Wharton, whose signing had been advocated by some after the deal for Martin Zubimendi fell through. Wharton, still only 20, remains a novice in Premier League terms and will only improve, but Slot’s decision to stick with Gravenberch continues to be wholly justified.”