Reds overcome Palace, creep back into title race

A good 3-1 win for Liverpool away at Crystal Palace allows the Reds to go into the winter break with much to look forward to for the rest of the season.

Having secured a Carabao Cup final rendezvous with Chelsea in late February after convincingly seeing off Arsenal at the Emirates 2-0 – the first leg at Anfield a week earlier producing a 0-0 scoreline – and seeing runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City dropping two points after a gutsy Southampton earned themselves a 1-1 draw – Liverpool went into today’s game in South London knowing that a victory would put them nine points behind Man City, with a game in hand and still to play Pep Guardiola’s side in April at the Etihad.

And, indeed, Liverpool started the game at Selhurst Park seemingly aware that the Southampton result had shown Manchester City are vulnerable and that, if the Reds were to go on a spectacular run of wins – like the one that won them the title two years ago – then the title race might not be over after all.

Crisp passing, movement, chances, with Curtis Jones starring, characterised the first 35 minutes for Liverpool, when it looked as if the Reds might repeat last year’s 7-0 demolition of the Eagles.

Thus, on seven minutes, the outstanding Andy Robertson swung in a corner which found Virgil van Dijk all alone five yards out  – the Palace defenders having run into each other – and he powered the ball with his forehead into the back of Vicente Guaita’s net.

Palace looked at sixes and sevens and Liverpool came forward relentlessly, looking as if they were going to score every time. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, having missed a good chance on the far post earlier made up for squandering this chance by, on 32 minutes, finding himself in a similar position after a tremendous cross by Roberston and this time making no mistake, calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net.

Inexplicably, however, just when you thought Oxlade Chamberlain’s goal would deflate the Eagles and allow Liverpool to run riot, complacency seems to have affected the Reds, particularly the centre backs, where van Dijk’s determination to play the game at his pace was being challenged by Palace’s rapid and dogged attackers. Alisson Becker was called into action several times to keep Liverpool’s lead in tact before half time.

Maintaining momentum from the last 15 minutes of the first half, Crystal Palace continued to put Liverpool under pressure and contrive to find a way back into the game.

Deservedly, on 55 minutes, Palace’s resolve and confidence paid off, when a through ball split the Liverpool defence, stranding Joel Matip and van Dijk and leaving Mateta to square the pass for Edouard, who tapped into the empty net.

From here on in, the game was characterised by Palace’s dominance and threat. The Eagles created several good chances that produced a string of outstanding saves from man-of-the-match Alisson to keep Liverpool ahead.

Still, on 85 minutes, when the likeliest outcome remained a Palace equaliser, an extraordinary 60-yard cross-field pass from Trent Alexander Arnold was chested down and into the area by Diogo Jota who, despite the ball running away from him, was clattered into by the onrushing Guaita.

Initially, referee Kevin Friend didn’t see a foul in the collision between striker and keeper but, after VAR suggested he take a look at the pitch side monitor, the referee altered his opinion and gave Liverpool a spot kick.

Fabinho, having scored three goals in his last four games, stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way. Game over.

Next up for Liverpool is a home tie against Cardiff City on 6 February in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. The Bluebirds are languishing in the lower depths of the Championship, so Jurgen Klopp will no doubt make several changes to the Reds lineup.

By the time Liverpool play again in the Premier League – on 10 February against Leicester at Anfield – not only will Mo Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mané be back from the Africa Cup of Nations but so will long-term injuries Harvey Elliott, Thiago Alcantara and Divock Origi.

Liverpool will need to improve – particularly at the back – if they are to win any of the four competitions they’re still in – Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup – but there’s no reason to doubt that the Reds are capable of a run of form that will bring them glory and silverware.

Liverpool escape from Palace with hard-fought win

A flattering 3-0 victory for Liverpool against a good Crystal Palace side, who were coming off an impressive display and win over Spurs.

 

It was always going to be a tough match for Liverpool after their heroic, emotional, draining midweek Champions League contest against AC Milan, and Jurgen Klopp rotated his team, bringing in Kostas Tsimikas for Andy Robertson, James Milner for Trent Alexander Arnold, reinstating Virgil van Dijk for Joe Gomez, giving Ibrahima Konate his debut alongside van Dijk ahead of Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara starting for Naby Keita and Sadio Mané for Divock Origi.

 

The unusual lineup and particularly the shakeup in defence meant the Reds got off to a difficult start and within the first five minutes Palace could have scored twice, the best chance falling to Wilfried Zaha who poked the ball over a stranded Alisson Becker, only for the Brazilian to brilliantly improvise a save, pushing the goal-bound ball on to the post and behind for a corner.

 

After 25 minutes, the Reds finally began to take over the game, with Mané and Tsimikas linking up well on the left, with the Greek left back’s delivery always threatening. 

 

Liverpool should have taken the lead on 37 minutes when a Jordan Henderson cross from the right was well met by a flying Thiago but his header was saved by the Palace keeper, Vicente Guaita, the ball falling two yards out to Diogo Jota who, inexplicably, blazed over the bar.

 

Despite the miss, Liverpool’s pressure did pay off five minutes later when from a corner Tsimikas found Mo Salah who had made a clever arcing run to the centre of the penalty area, his header saved again by Guaita but this time Mané made no mistake in lashing the ball home.

 

An even second half saw Palace always posing a threat and it would not have been against the run of play had they taken one of the many chances they created to bring the game level. Good goalkeeping from Becker, always in the right place at the right time, made the difference. Konate can be satisfied with his first game for Liverpool. Strong, quick, tenacious, excellent recovery capabilities, he didn’t look out of place in a Red shirt. Only once or twice did he caught – a poor clearance, a reasonable penalty shout against him – but this didn’t prove costly.

 

The game was in the balance until the 78th minute when another excellent Tsimikas corner caused havoc in the Palace area and the ball looped to the the back post where the outstanding Salah was lurking to venomously volley the ball into the back of the net and put Liverpool two up.

 

Palace were deflated, all their efforts had been in vain, and Liverpool were able to comfortably see out the last 10 minutes of the game, the icing on the cake being a cracking left-foot volley from the edge of the area on 89 minutes from Naby Keita – on for the injured Thiago – after a Salah corner from the right was punched out to him by the Palace keeper.

 

Next up for Liverpool is a Carabao Cup away tie against Norwich City on Tuesday, struggling to find any form in the Premier League after being promoted, having lost all five of their games, including a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool on the first day of the season. You would expect Klopp to make significant changes for the match, giving squad players the opportunity to stake a claim to a first-team role. 

 

Liverpool’s next Premier League game is away at Brentford, who have got off to a flying start in their first season and are currently sitting ninth in the league, back in the top flight after 75 years, showing their quality in the early kickoff defeating Wolves away 2-0, despite playing the last third of the game with 10 men, after Shandon Baptiste was sent off for two yellow cards.

Liverpool end season with Champions League mission accomplished

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.

Sensational Reds put seven past Palace

Over to you, then, the rest of the Premier League. On a damp day in south London Liverpool produced a performance of ruthless champion quality, swatting Crystal Palace aside and raising a thrilling reprise of last season’s steamrollering rhythms.

A 7-0 (vidiprinter: seven) win left them six points clear at the top of the table, however briefly. This was a day when Liverpool simply raised themselves up to their full height against game but out-matched opponents. The scoreline was startling. The quality of the goals was something else.

This was Palace’s heaviest home defeat, edging out a 6-1 to Millwall in the inter-war years. Oddly, the home players never really stopped running or became a rabble. They even played quite well in the first half. By the end, as Palace kicked off, then kicked off again, as Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington barked unstinting encouragement in an empty, rain-lashed stadium, it felt like an act of sporting cruelty.

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Reds on brink of title after Palace thrashing

Firmino nabs late winner against Crystal Palace

Liverpool may not win the title this season but they continue to play like champions – not necessarily in terms of performance, for this was another unconvincing showing away from home by Jürgen Klopp’s men, but undeniably in their refusal to give up on victory.

Time was running out and this game appeared set to end in a 1-1 draw after Wilfried Zaha equalised for Crystal Palace in the 82nd minute. The hosts had been the better side and did not deserve to have fallen behind to Sadio Mané’s goal just after the break. They had also been somewhat harshly denied a first-half lead after VAR intervened to rule out a header by James Tomkins. Justice, therefore, appeared to be done. But with five minutes left Liverpool did what they so often do: score late. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner was not cleared by a gang of Palace players and, as the ball spilled free, Roberto Firmino was on hand to send it into the net.

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Salah scores two as Reds fight to overcome Crystal Palace

The good news for Manchester City is that Liverpool suddenly look quite vulnerable. They conceded three goals here and ended up with 10 men after James Milner had, almost inevitably, picked up a second yellow for a foul on Wilfried Zaha. The bad news is that they are still winning, even in adverse circumstances. The home side’s 10 men managed what turned out to be the decisive goal when Sadio Mané cut in from the left to score in stoppage time, and even though there was still time for Max Meyer to grab a last-gasp third for the visitors, Liverpool clung on for another three points.

One way or another Crystal Palace have had a big say in the absorbing battle at the top of the Premier League. They halted the City procession by unexpectedly winning at the Etihad before Christmas and they might have pegged Liverpool back here but for their lapses of concentration in defence ruining a promising start. In Manchester Palace mounted a spectacular comeback after going a goal down, scoring twice in quick succession to allow Liverpool to open up a gap at the top of the table. Here they seemed to grow tired of waiting for the league leaders to go in front, so effective was their blanket defence, and after half an hour of comfortably repelling everything Liverpool could throw at them they went upfield to show the home side what a quick and incisive move looks like.

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Match highlights: Crystal Palace 0 v 2 Liverpool

Liverpool show they can win ugly

On a testing night for Liverpool at a raucous Selhurst Park, fans of dramatic title races were pleased to witness further confirmation that Jürgen Klopp’s speedsters remain the best bet to keep pace with Manchester City. Even at this early stage none of the other pretenders look as ready as Liverpool to sprint alongside Pep Guardiola’s champions now that steel accompanies their raw ability.

In its own defiant way, this slender, bitty, draining victory over Crystal Palace was even more impressive than last week’s humiliation of West Ham. Liverpool, who already know they cannot let City out of their sights for a single second, were rarely at their dizzying best and they had to be tough to withstand Palace’s physical onslaught after James Milner’s penalty. There is a different feel to this team, a more robust vibe after years of flakiness, a sense that they are learning how to win ugly.

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Klopp blasts full-backs

Jurgen Klopp criticised the performance of Liverpool’s full-backs following the 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Monday. J

James Milner gave Liverpool the lead with a controversial penalty on the stroke of half-time after Mohamed Salah went down following a slight touch from Mamadou Sakho. 

Roy Hodgson’s Eagles threatened to mount a comeback in the second half but Sadio Mane ensured Liverpool would be returning to Anfield with three points with a late goal.

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Reds ease past Crystal Palace

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was "not interested in sending a statement" to his side's title rivals after victory over Crystal Palace gave them a second successive Premier League win.

The Reds - who finished 25 points behind champions Manchester City in fourth last season - were worthy winners at Selhurst Park and join five other teams, including City, on six points after two games.

James Milner gave them the lead with a penalty after Mohamed Salah was brought down by Mamadou Sakho in the closing seconds of the first half.

Palace had young defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka sent off with 15 minutes left after he brought down Salah when the Egyptian was through on goal.

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