Key events
Andy Hunter was at Anfield tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Crystal Palace’s reward for tonight’s victory: a quarter-final tie at Arsenal.
A grim-faced Arne Slot speaks to Sky Sports. “It’s not of Liverpool’s standards to lose five out of six … to lose six out of seven … [the pressure] might increase a little bit but not so much because the pressure was already high … again we have to face three very difficult teams [in the next week] … for the first time we can do it in eight days instead of seven … I could have brought [his first-choice squad] into this by playing them tonight, with only two days rest … everybody can have their opinion … 15 or 16 first-team players available … this is the choice I made.”
Is Saturday evening’s game against Aston Villa a must-win? “For Liverpool every game is a must-win.”
Liverpool have lost six out of their last seven … and five in a row domestically. That’s their worst domestic sequence since Don Welsh’s side did this in the autumn of 1953 …
Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Liverpool
Newcastle United 4-0 Liverpool
Liverpool 1-5 Preston North End
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Liverpool
… which led to Liverpool being relegated from the old First Division in last place. Now, nobody’s seriously considering a fate like that befalling Arne Slot’s team, but Aston Villa and Manchester City are up next in the Premier League, so things might get worse before they get better. For the record, Liverpool’s worst-ever streak of domestic defeats came in 1899, when they lost nine on the bounce. Plenty of breathing room there, then. Eh?
Post-match postbag. “The wheels got a bit wobbly with the FA Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle. They were deservedly losers in the Carabao Cup final and outplayed home and away in the Champions League against PSG. From January onwards league form was steady rather than exceptional. The trend seems to be the longer Arne Slot has been in charge the worse the performances have been. He’s on a downward trajectory and showing no sign of having the answers to rectify it. Even a title-winning manager only has so much good will from the board. He must be close to the exit door” – Chris Healy
“Nick Woltemade scored tonight. Meanwhile a disastrous performance in a Liverpool jersey from former Newcastle United hero A̶l̶e̶x̶a̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶I̶s̶a̶k̶ Freddie Woodman” – Chris Paraskevas
“Lucky only had to play 25 minutes with that shower. Nominative determinism undefeated” – Rowan Sweeney
… but Arne Slot got way too experimental with his line-up. He was asking for trouble, and it was delivered to him by Palace in an efficient, fuss-free manner. In and of itself, this result doesn’t mean much, Slot having clearly been willing to sacrifice a competition his club have won a record ten times, in order to free up some calendar space going forward. But in the wider context of Liverpool’s abysmal run – they’ve now lost six of their last seven in all competitions – it adds further pressure. A positive result tonight would have given Slot some desperately needed wriggle room. Now, if Liverpool can’t get anything going in any of their next three matches, against Aston Villa (who have won six of their last seven), Real Madrid and Manchester City (who are, respectively, Real Madrid and Manchester City), the heat, already dangerously high, will be ratcheted all the way up to 11. The climate is closing in on Arne Slot and Liverpool.
First up, hats off to Crystal Palace. It was men against boys, literally and figuratively, Ismaila Sarr once again making Liverpool his bunnies. He’s now scored five goals in five appearances for Palace against Liverpool; seven in nine if you add in his time at Watford. A fine goal for Yeremy Pino, too. Palace did what they had to do, with confidence and style. They go into the hat for the quarter-finals, the FA Cup and Community Shield holders getting a taste for the silver stuff. They’ll take some stopping.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace
Arne Slot asked for it with his team selection; Crystal Palace gave him it. Palace into the quarter-finals in style!
90 min +2: Liverpool knock it around but there’s not going to be any consolation.
90 min +1: Kerkez crosses well from the left. Gordon’s header flashes wide right. Liverpool have only managed one effort on target all evening. “It’s a massive blow for nominative determinism unless Liverpool’s Lucky pulls something out of the fire now,” quips Paul Griffin.
90 min: Pino comes sliding aggressively through the back of Ramsay. He should see red for it, but it’s just a yellow. No VAR tonight. There will be three additional minutes at the end of a match Palace won in the first half.
89 min: Anfield spontaneously erupts in song. You’ll Never Walk Alone, of course. But it fizzles out quickly enough. “We want four,” chant the Palace faithful.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace (Pino 88)
Pino dances elegantly into the Liverpool box from the left, makes himself enough space by giving Lucky the eyes, opens his body, and curls a lovely shot into the bottom right. Palace have done a number on Liverpool yet again. This time it’s three.
86 min: Ngumoha, who departs to warm applause, is replaced by Liverpool’s new Trent, Kone-Doherty.
85 min: “Considering Liverpool’s current run, just how bad are Eintracht Frankfurt?” We’ve all been thinking it; Gary Byrne goes ahead and says it.
83 min: The “you’re getting sacked in the morning” song gets another airing. Meanwhile Uche comes on for Sosa.
81 min: That is utterly farcical. Amara Nallo has had two senior appearances, and the 18-year-old defender has been sent off in both of them! That has to be some sort of first.
RED CARD: Nallo (Liverpool)
79 min: Nallo miscontrols in the centre circle. He allows Mateta to send Devenny clear down the middle. Nallo tugs back Devenny, and it’s a clear red card. Nallo was red-carded on his debut against PSV Eindhoven last season; he’s been red-carded on his second appearance for the club as well!
77 min: Gordon nutmegs Sosa down the right flank. It doesn’t really get him anywhere, but at least it gave Liverpool’s fans something to cheer. They’ve had precious little else to enjoy this evening.
75 min: Ngumoha has the opportunity to release Kerkez down the left, but opts to attempt to dribble around Cardines instead. He wins a corner, which is sent long to Chiesa, who can’t control on the edge of the six-yard box, and a chance to shoot from a tight angle is gone.
74 min: Palace make a double change, replacing Munoz and Hughes with Lerma and Cardines.
72 min: Chiesa is booked for becoming overly irritated by Devenny’s challenge, and shoves him over with both hands. Liverpool in danger of losing the collective head.
70 min: The rain is absolutely biblical. It’s not quite Newcastle-Sunderland in 1999, the game that did for Ruud Gullit, but it’s something.
68 min: Liverpool make a triple change. Gordon, Nallo and another debutant in Lucky come on for Robertson, Mac Allister and Morrison. “Just had an email about the new LFC Pop figures (Ian Rush, Alexis Mac Allister),” writes Kev McCready. “On the basis of this, I reckon they’d do a better job.”
66 min: Sosa crosses deep from the left. Munoz, coming in from the right, wins a header but skittles Kerkez in doing so. The whistle goes.
64 min: … and then Gomez blocks a Pino effort. 0-3 looks a much more likely scoreline than 1-2.
63 min: Pino plays Mateta in down the middle with a cute reverse pass. Mateta takes one touch too many and his eventual shot is blocked by Robertson. Liverpool’s defence was split apart too easily again.
62 min: Sarr won’t get his hat-trick. He makes way for Devenny.
61 min: The rain continues to come down in stair-rods. Anfield a miserable place right now, though the Palace fans couldn’t care less. They’re in party mode.
59 min: It’s very scrappy at the moment. The home fans vocal, but only in their irritation.
57 min: Palace look completely comfortable. A Liverpool comeback looks extremely unlikely to materialise.
55 min: Robertson goes into the book for a desperate lunge into Pino. Liverpool’s captain for the night betraying quite a bit of frustration there.
54 min: Ramsay flicks the ball past Sosa down the right only to be palmed off. Sosa slightly lucky not to go into the book for that saucy stop-signal.
52 min: A little space for Chiesa down the inside-left channel. Canvot comes across to block the shot. “Ah well,” begins Matt Dony. “Last season was fun, wasn’t it?”
51 min: Guehi sends a long speculative pass down the right. Mateta strides onto it and fizzes a shot goalwards from 20 yards. Straight at Woodman, who may be reconsidering his one-time fandom of Palace right now.
49 min: Sarr, in search of his hat-trick, aims a long-distance shot towards the bottom left. Easy for Woodman.
48 min: Liverpool pass it around awhile to little effect. The nervousness in their meek play all too apparent.
46 min: Morrison scampers down the right and wins a corner in front of the Kop. The woefully out-of-form Mac Allister whips to the near post, where Mateta clears with ease.
Liverpool get the ball rolling again. Their bench consists of two 18-year-olds, three 19-year-olds, two 20-year-olds and two 21-year-olds, so there’s no obvious swap to mix things up. They’re as they were. Palace rub it in by replacing Nketiah with Mateta.
The rain is pouring down at Anfield. Even as cheap symbolism, it’s a bit too on-the-nose.
Half-time postbag. “Every time I’ve seen Ismaïla Sarr play, he looks like an elite player. He really caught the eye at Afcon in 2021, and I’ve never seen him be less than dangerous. I think being at Palace really suits his style, but I’m surprised no club with money to burn has gone in for him” – Kári Tulinius
“Re – Justin Kavanagh, 20 mins: ‘This squad tonight looks young enough to be the side they’ll eventually become when Arne Slot has left the club.’ You really think this is going to be the team Liverpool are sending out in January?” – Drew Ellis (because somebody had to tap home that open-goal sitter)
“Turns out there’s always another rake to step on” – Niall Mullen
Half-time entertainment. The action never stops. Michael Butler’s Clockwatch sees to that.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 0-2 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace are halfway towards doing a number on Liverpool yet again.
45 min +4: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” chirp the travelling Eagles fans. Poor Arne.
45 min +3: It’s raining hard at Anfield. For Liverpool right now, it never rains but it pours. On the touchline, Arne Slot stands soaked to the skin. He could do with an umbrella. He’ll catch his death! Steve McClaren has an awful lot to answer for.
45 min +1: Liverpool’s young side desperately need to hear the half-time whistle … but there’s five additional minutes to play, and Palace have the scent of blood in their nostrils.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-2 Crystal Palace (Sarr 45)
It’s that man again! Sarr one-twos with Kamada down the middle, left to right and back again, and finds himself in an absurd amount of space. He steps into the Liverpool box, opens his body, and whips a shot across Woodman and into the bottom right. Lovely football, but Liverpool’s makeshift defence was all over the shop. It’s now seven in nine for Sarr against Liverpool.
44 min: Gomez misses a kick in the midfield and Kamada dings Nketiah into space down the inside-right channel. Nketiah enters the box but slips over under pressure from Ramsay. No penalty. Liverpool suddenly look ragged and rattled, for the first time this evening.
42 min: Ramsay tries to respond immediately by bustling in from the right, but drags a wild shot wide right.
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace (Sarr 41)
A ball played down the middle by Kamada. Munoz makes trouble in the box, buzzing around. He kicks the ball into Gomez, who slashes at a clearance and instead tees up Sarr. The Palace winger slots into the bottom right from 12 yards. Simple as that, and it’s six goals in nine appearances against Liverpool for Sarr!
39 min: Guehi rolls the ball down the middle. Nketiah tries to release Sarr with a cute flick on the edge of the box, but Sarr thinks he’s offside so stands aside. The ball sails through to Woodman. Nearly a lovely defence-splitting routine.
38 min: Morrison shifts his feet elegantly down the inside-right channel. He thinks he’s made enough space to shoot, but as he cocks his leg near the edge of the box, Sosa arrives from nowhere to block.
37 min: Kamada crosses from the right. Sarr heads goalwards from 12 yards out, but Woodman gathers without fuss. Palace are beginning to get on top.
36 min: Ramsay’s loose touch allows Sosa to advance down the left. Gomez is forced to turn behind for another Palace corner. Kamada goes short, exchanging passes with Hughes before crossing deep. Guehi nearly gets in ahead of Mac Allister on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box … but not quite. Liverpool clear their lines again.
34 min: A long pass down the right releases Morrison, who enters the area but can’t decide whether to shoot or pass. In the end, he achieves neither. Those seize-the-day instincts not kicking in.
