Liverpool’s hopes of clinching the Premier League title have suffered a setback as Jurgen Klopp’s team suffered a 0-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace in the 33rd round of the Premier League.
Liverpool is showing signs of a significant decline as Klopp’s squad is experiencing a crisis. After drawing with Manchester United last week, Liverpool suffered a resounding defeat against Atalanta in the Europa League midweek, and today they unexpectedly lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace. This is Liverpool’s third defeat of the season and their first home loss.
Liverpool’s shocking loss to Crystal Palace at Anfield – 1Liverpool’s performance has been declining in the late stage of the season (Photo: Getty).
Since the beginning of the season in the Premier League, Liverpool has had the best home record with 13 wins and 3 draws in 16 matches. This gave Liverpool fans confidence that their team would easily win against Crystal Palace, a team with poor form and positioned in the bottom half of the table.
However, a lax defense led to an early setback as Eze easily opened the scoring in the 14th minute. The away team’s forward had an easy shot from the center of the penalty area without being marked by any Liverpool defender. Liverpool’s defense played poorly, failing to mark Eze.
Liverpool’s defense continued to be lackluster after conceding the goal. In the 18th minute, Van Dijk slipped, giving Mateta a clear chance to run towards Alisson. It was a reminiscent image of Steven Gerrard’s unfortunate slip on April 27, 2014, which cost Liverpool the championship. Fortunately for Van Dijk, Robertson rushed back to clear the ball on the goal line, preventing a visible goal for the home team.
In the first half, Liverpool lacked impressive attacking play. Their first and only chance came in the 27th minute from a corner kick, where the ball was scrambled inside the penalty area, and Diaz quickly shot, hitting the crossbar before being cleared by a Crystal Palace player.
Liverpool’s shocking loss to Crystal Palace at Anfield – 2Liverpool’s strikers were strangely unlucky (Photo: Getty).
As the second half began, Klopp made attacking personnel adjustments, and the pressure created by the home team in front of the visitors’ goal increased over time. However, Liverpool’s players continued to squander scoring opportunities. It was perplexing how unlucky the home team’s strikers were, as they created numerous clear chances but failed to find the back of the net.
In the second half, Liverpool doubled their number of shots compared to the first half (14-7), but the effectiveness remained zero. Crystal Palace only had two shots in the second half, with one on target. If luck had been on their side, the away team could have scored a second goal. Liverpool’s defense did not fully learn from their mistakes in the first half, and there were moments that made their supporters hold their breath.
After the 33rd round of the Premier League, Liverpool is undoubtedly in third place in the standings with 71 points from 32 matches played. The gap between Liverpool and the league leaders, Manchester City, is 2 points.