Premier League: Crystal Palace 1, Liverpool 0
The sombre scene following the conclusion of the match was a stark testament to a deeply challenging week for Liverpool. Liverpool’s manager, Jürgen Klopp, embraced a triumphing Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace, then expelled a deep sigh as he shook his head in disbelief. Andy Robertson, his shoulders slumped, gazed aimlessly into the expanse, whilst the home supporters vacated the stadium unhappily. The title race for Liverpool has taken a regrettable detour.
After an impactful defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals first leg on the preceding Thursday, Liverpool bore a similar loss on their home turf. An early goal netted by Eberechi Eze tipped the scales in favour of Crystal Palace, pushing them towards safety from the danger of relegation and simultaneously nudging Liverpool’s Premier League title chances further out of reach. Klopp’s squad has suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time since the pandemic-ridden season of 2020-21, their own uninspiring performance to blame for this disheartening downturn. A late rally in the second half proved insufficient to change their fate.
Anfield observed a poignant commemoration for the 97 Liverpool fans unjustly claimed by the Hillsborough incident before the match commenced. The stirring rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and a moment of silence to remember the victims, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the tragedy, were complemented by a ’97’ mosaic on the Kop.
Despite Klopp’s assurance of a revitalised performance after their unexpected Europa League defeat to Atalanta, Liverpool put forth an underwhelming first-half performance. Their lackluster performance included sluggishness, careless ball-handling, and defensive disarray. Even Alisson, starting his first match since a hamstring injury in February, was not immune to the infestation of subpar performance. Crystal Palace reaped benefits from these slip-ups, validating their leading position at half-time that arguably could have been more significant.
With stand-out performances from the talented duo of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, the visitors effortlessly breached Liverpool’s defences and showed a strong hand on their left against Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konaté. Liverpool ignored the warning bells, falling prey to a skilful passing game from Palace players Adam Wharton, Olise and Tyrick Mitchell.
The defensive player skilfully guided the ball from the touchline, passing it through the legs of Wataru Endo, allowing Eze to accurately drive home a goal past the primary goalkeeper of Liverpool who had returned to play. Both Konaté and Virgil van Dijk showed a delayed reaction to the imminent threat, leaving a gaping space for Eze to score unchallenged. This marked the fourth situation of the last five home games where Liverpool had fallen behind first in the Premier League. However, they’ve managed to secure an astonishing 27 points from losing starts this season, and found themselves in a familiar, yet unwelcome position once more.
Palace could have easily added another to their tally before Liverpool gathered their wits. A misstep from Van Dijk allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta to latch onto Eze’s pass and storm unimpeded towards the goal. Although Mateta managed to lift his shot over the charging Alisson, it failed to pack enough gusto, enabling Andy Robertson to perform a spectacular clearance just in time.
The only player from Liverpool to maintain a satisfactory performance in the first half was Robertson. He splendidly returned a corner taken by Endo from the left, hitting the crossbar of Palace’s goal within the congested six-yard area. Robertson also displayed a stellar cross to Luis Diaz at the far post, whose remarkable volley was capably prevented by goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
The Palace’s netminder nearly handed Liverpool a draw thanks to his hesitance during a standard play. His uncertainty permitted Darwin Nunez to swoop in, but with Mohamed Salah being unobstructed in the box, the forward sent the cross too strong to an offside Díaz. The first half’s summary was perfectly illustrated in the 45th minute when Díaz cleverly tricked two Palace players to pass to Alexis Mac Allister via a nutmeg on Mateta. The champion of the World Cup pivoted, noticed Bradley’s advance from the right flank but completely misjudged his pass, sending it right outside the playing area.
For the second time in under a week, Liverpool’s sluggish performance led to Klopp making necessary changes during the break. Dominik Szoboszlai came in for the pensive Endo, infusing fresh vitality and precision that Liverpool was desperately missing earlier. Although this boosted Liverpool substantially, terrible luck and poorly executed shots just added to Anfield’s woes.
Nunez was presented with an excellent chance to level the score when a header from Van Dijk at a corner taken by Robertson landed in front of him, just seven yards from the goal. Despite making a strong contact with the ball, the international player from Uruguay’s shot from close range was deflected over by Henderson. Similarly, a shot from Mateta, who had been excellently set up by Joachim Andersen following an Eze free-kick, was kept out by Alisson. Despite being close to the goal, the striker turned his effort onto the Brazilian and over the wide-open goal.
Liverpool similarly made several astonishingly poor misses. Following his introduction in the second half, Cody Gakpo increased the threat on the home side. Immediately after his entry into the match, the player from the Netherlands sent a low ball to Curtis Jones who let the ball slip away from him in front of the goal.
Another substitute, Diogo Jota, looked all set to make a mark when Szoboszlai brought in Henderson before passing the ball over to him. Jota, who generally showed good goal-scoring instincts, struck his shot first time against former Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne, resulting in the ball bouncing wide. Jones was guilty of the most egregious miss when Gakpo provided him with a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Even though he anticipated Henderson’s approach, his resultant effort was far off target.
During the seven minutes of injury time, a ball from Gakpo, which missed Anderson – perhaps the first failure of interception by the Palace captain – landed at Salah’s feet, just three yards from goal. Although a thrilling late equaliser looked a distinct possibility, Salah’s effort was stopped by Mitchell’s deflection and sailed wide. Liverpool hardly threatened after that incident. – Guardian