A nervous start from Liverpool on the last day of the season saw them rely on a good block from Alisson Becker to keep out Wilfred Zaha as he wriggled past Nat Phillips towards the byline and, after a misplaced pass from Trent Alexander Arnold and hesitation from Phillips and Rhys Williams, Andros Townsend bursting threw on goal only to slide the ball past the post, suggesting that the Reds might be in for a torrid afternoon, especially as news came through that Leicester had taken an early lead against Spurs, which, if results had stayed the same, would have left Liverpool in fifth place and outside the Champions League spots, but Townsend’s miss was the last time Crystal Palace managed to threaten Liverpool, who took a grip of the game they never released until the 93rd minute and the end of the match.
After Townsend’s miss, chances were squandered at the other end from Sadio Mané, Mo Salah and, most glaringly, by Williams, who put his unchallenged header from an Andy Robertson corner over the bar from six yards out when it seemed easier to score.
But the anxiety didn’t last.
On 36 minutes, another corner, this time taken by Alexander Arnold, was glanced on by Williams, miscontrolled by Robert Firmino into the path of Mané who prodded the ball home from a yard out.
Liverpool relaxed and, in the second half, as news came through that Chelsea were losing to Aston Villa and Leicester to Spurs, which meant that as things stood Liverpool would finish in third and a draw would still have them in the top four, all tension dissipated and entirely evaporated on the 74th minute when a sweeping move from back to front saw Salah bearing down on the Palace area goal squaring the ball to Mané whose deflected shot wrong-footed Vicente Guaita and found the bottom of the net.
The rest of the game revolved around Mo Salah trying to score to catch Harry Kane – whose opening goal for Tottenham against Leicester moved him onto 23 for the season, one ahead of Salah in the race for the Golden Boot – but it wasn’t to be, not that this should take away from the fact that Salah was Liverpool’s most consistent player of the season. While Mané and Firmino saw drops in form and Diogo Jota’s promising first season was marred by absences from injury, Salah kept his standards and his goal tally high.
For sure, Liverpool’s traumatic season – characterised by horrendous injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip and signficant absences for Alisson Becker, Jordan Henderson, Jota, Thiago Alcantara, James Milner and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain – and personal tragedies endured by Jurgen Klopp and Alisson Becker – will be remembered as a disappointment, particularly when we consider that after their 7-0 demolition of Crystal Palace in December, Liverpool were top and their main rivals Manchester City appeared to be faltering.
By March, Liverpool’s decline in form was so precipitate that it seemed as if they would finish seventh or eight. Only an extraordinary run of five wins in a row – and some unexpected defeats for teams ahead of them, Chelsea, Leicester and Spurs – allowed them to climb up the table and, eventually finish third.
Alisson Becker’s header in the 95th minute to secure victory against West Brom on 16 May was the key and most exciting moment of the season. Once that goal went in, it seemed that the curse that had befallen Liverpool this season had been lifted and they would not be denied that Champions League spot, which means so much in terms of prestige, finance and the ability to attract the world’s best players, some of whom Reds’ fans hope will be showing up to Anfield next season to challenge Manchester City for the title, contribute to deeper runs in the FA Cup and League Cup and make a better fist of the Champions League than managed in the last two campaigns.
But the anxiety didn’t last.
On 36 minutes, another corner, this time taken by Alexander Arnold, was glanced on by Williams, miscontrolled by Robert Firmino into the path of Mané who prodded the ball home from a yard out.
Liverpool relaxed and, in the second half, as news came through that Chelsea were losing to Aston Villa and Leicester to Spurs, which meant that as things stood Liverpool would finish in third and a draw would still have them in the top four, all tension dissipated and entirely evaporated on the 74th minute when a sweeping move from back to front saw Salah bearing down on the Palace area goal squaring the ball to Mané whose deflected shot wrong-footed Vicente Guaita and found the bottom of the net.
The rest of the game revolved around Mo Salah trying to score to catch Harry Kane – whose opening goal for Tottenham against Leicester moved him onto 23 for the season, one ahead of Salah in the race for the Golden Boot – but it wasn’t to be, not that this should take away from the fact that Salah was Liverpool’s most consistent player of the season. While Mané and Firmino saw drops in form and Diogo Jota’s promising first season was marred by absences from injury, Salah kept his standards and his goal tally high.
For sure, Liverpool’s traumatic season – characterised by horrendous injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip and signficant absences for Alisson Becker, Jordan Henderson, Jota, Thiago Alcantara, James Milner and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain – and personal tragedies endured by Jurgen Klopp and Alisson Becker – will be remembered as a disappointment, particularly when we consider that after their 7-0 demolition of Crystal Palace in December, Liverpool were top and their main rivals Manchester City appeared to be faltering.
By March, Liverpool’s decline in form was so precipitate that it seemed as if they would finish seventh or eight. Only an extraordinary run of five wins in a row – and some unexpected defeats for teams ahead of them, Chelsea, Leicester and Spurs – allowed them to climb up the table and, eventually finish third.
Alisson Becker’s header in the 95th minute to secure victory against West Brom on 16 May was the key and most exciting moment of the season. Once that goal went in, it seemed that the curse that had befallen Liverpool this season had been lifted and they would not be denied that Champions League spot, which means so much in terms of prestige, finance and the ability to attract the world’s best players, some of whom Reds’ fans hope will be showing up to Anfield next season to challenge Manchester City for the title, contribute to deeper runs in the FA Cup and League Cup and make a better fist of the Champions League than managed in the last two campaigns.
