Ryan Gravenberch loved what Wataru Endo did in last minute of Liverpool win vs Crystal Palace

There has been a lot of speculation about Wataru Endo's future at Liverpool but he more than played his part in getting the Reds over the line at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

The midfielder came on as a late substitute and added stability to Arne Slot's side during stoppage time. In the last minute of the regulation 90, Endo prompted applause from teammate Ryan Gravenberch with a crunching, but fair, slide tackle on Will Hughes as the Palace midfielder threatened to trigger a counter-attack.

As soon as Endo won the ball, Gravenberch started furiously clapping – and it's a moment that prompted plenty of praise from Liverpool's supporters online too.

• Four talking points from Liverpool's win at Crystal Palace
• Arne Slot provides worrying injury update on Alisson

One X user wrote: "Endo wants to play for Liverpool Football Club, that's enough for me... That tackle was all of us!" Another said: "Different from the other midfielders we've got. This is what he's all about. He will greatly help us in this kind of game."

A third added: "People actually wanted this guy gone just cause he isn’t a fancy Brazilian, how many guys do you know that are gonna come off the bench and help you win ball after ball in midfield when you need it like that? Endo is a machine."

Endo has barely played for Liverpool this season, with the 31-year-old's only start of the campaign coming in the EFL Cup win over West Ham in September.

The Japan international has only made three other appearances, coming off the bench during injury time in wins over AC Milan and Brentford, before entering the pitch in the 89th minute against Palace.

Liverpool manager Slot was full of praise for the former Stuttgart midfielder after the match. “I think that is one of the most positive things I see in this team, that even if a player comes in five to seven minutes – such a big player, captain of his country, coming in five minutes before the end – [he gives his all],” Slot said.

“I sometimes, at certain clubs or other teams, see then a player coming in a bit like ‘you only use me for five or seven minutes?’. But if you look at how Wata came in now, how good he was on the ball but also the second balls that he won, he had only in these seven minutes a very good impact.

“I think that tells you a lot about team cohesion, but definitely also about the person. Wata, with only playing five minutes, he gives that performance – that says a lot about him as a person.”