Liverpool whiffed on a chance to rebound from their midweek meltdown against Real Madrid, looking dull in a scoreless draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
In all honesty, Palace probably should’ve been ahead at the break and managed the draw despite no Wilfried Zaha and beginning the game with Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard on the bench.
WATCH CRYSTAL PALACE vs LIVERPOOL FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM - LINK
Liverpool has still played less games than all but one of the six teams in front of it, but the Reds’ 36 points remain six points off the top four with 15 matches to play.
Palace remains in 12th with 27 points, six clear of the bottom three and four off 10th-place Chelsea.
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Answers missing as Liverpool appears stuck in midweek morass
Liverpool’s actual performance in the 5-2 midweek clattering at the hands of Real Madrid -- at Anfield and in the UEFA Champions League -- wasn’t as bad as the score line, at least according to advanced stats, but the Reds didn’t have any sort of their standard swagger at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
And that’s natural, even if the post-match comments of neither Jurgen Klopp nor James Milner thought they saw any sort of lingering letdown from the team.
The Reds’ midfield of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, and Naby Keita has a collective veteran nature and was well-suited to play a “no letdowns” sort of game, but Cheick Doucoure would’ve shown Liverpool what it was missing in an all-action, nearing-his-prime midfielder.
And while injuries can’t often be an excuse for a club that’s spent as much as Liverpool, especially when Palace was missing Wilfried Zaha, the Reds could not deploy Thiago Alcantara, Darwin Nunez, and Ibrahima Konate amongst others.
That’s a big ask. Liverpool should get Nunez back soon and Arthur Melo is finally nearing a return. There’s still plenty of hope for a top-four finish, but Saturday was a big miss even given the loud, wild nature of Selhurst Park.
Then again, Real Madrid couldn’t get anywhere near its best with a draw against Atleti in the Madrid derby on Saturday. Yes, Real had to come home to Spain from Anfield, but maybe Klopp’s right about the challenges of three games in one week when your domestic league is this good.
Selhurst rocking as Palace always aimed for point
Wilfried Zaha’s absence and Liverpool’s status as a Premier League power might’ve led to Patrick Vieira opting to keep Eze and Edouard on the bench.
It looked early like Palace was happy to defend and chase a point from Moment No. 1, but Vieira clearly saw an opening in the early stages of the game.
Albert Sambi Lokonga and Cheick Doucoure were super good and Michael Olise and Jeff Schlupp out wide were quite ready as well.
What might this have looked like with Eze out there for more than the final 20 minutes? We won’t know, and Vieira will not likely think much about it. This is a solid point, and holding Liverpool under 1.0 expected goals is always impressive.
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool player ratings: Stars of the Show
Alisson Becker: You would’ve bet for him to rebound from the midweek loss to Real Madrid, and he did.
Cheick Doucoure: Eight recoveries as the Palace man showed Liverpool what it’s missing in the midfield.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: Arsenal loanee will love getting one over on Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah: Still the club’s hope, especially when Darwin Nunez is unavailable.
What’s next?
Crystal Palace gets a week to prepare for an improved Aston Villa on Saturday at Villa Park.
Liverpool hosts Wolves on Wednesday before hosting Manchester United on Sunday, March 5. Tough asks!
How to watch Crystal Palace vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2:45 pm ET, SaturdayOnline: Stream via Peacock Premium
Key storylines & star players
Keeping a pair of clean sheets against the Toffees and Magpies helped to snap a four-game winless skid for Liverpool (0W-1D-3L, by an absurd margin of 9-1), only to see the Reds revert back to their porous defensive ways against the reigning European champions. Despite the disastrous nature of their 2022-23 season, Liverpool remain just seven points behind 4th-place Tottenham with two games in hand.
The middle of the PL table is as congested as it has perhaps ever been, with Crystal Palace squarely in the middle of 10 sides separated by 10 points from 11th (Aston Villa - 28 points) all the way down to 20th (Southampton - 18). The Eagles were one headed clearance away from stealing three points away to Brentford last weekend, until Vitaly Janelt headed home a corner kick with the final touch of the game, leaving manager Patrick Vieira bewildered on the touchline. It was comfortably their most competent performance in weeks, and it still wasn’t enough in the end.
Crystal Palace team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Wilfried Zaha (hamstring), Nathan Ferguson (undisclosed), Sam Johnstone (calf), James Tomkins (personal)
Starting XI ✅
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) February 25, 2023
🧡 @shophumm #CPFC | #CRYLIV
Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Luis Diaz (knee), Thiago Alcantara (hip), Calvin Ramsay (knee), Arthur Melo (thigh), Ibrahima Konate (thigh), Joe Gomez (undisclosed), Darwin Nunez (undisclosed)
Our line-up to take on Crystal Palace tonight 👊#CRYLIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 25, 2023