It was the moment when Liverpool knew they would win here in south London and so move on from the Premier League defeat against Arsenal at Anfield last Sunday and the one in midweek at Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
Florian Wirtz had timed his run as Liverpool broke up the right and Bradley Barcola’s low pull back was made to measure. Wirtz had to take on the shot first time and it was a test of his technique under pressure. He never looked like failing it, not least because smoothness in this area is his calling card. Liverpool were 2-0 up, Alexis Mac Allister having headed them in front towards the end of the first half from a Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, and all you could hear was the eruption of delight in the away supporters’ enclosure.
In the Crystal Palace seats there was silence and it seemed to go on for an age. The atmosphere inside this stadium has been diminished since the Holmesdale Fanatics stopped their activities during matches in protest over the general treatment of fans by the club. There was no rallying cry from the stands. Only resignation. Acceptance. There were 54 minutes on the clock but they knew as well as everybody that this was done.
Palace were good in the first half, Yéremy Pino their stand-out performer. What a lovely player he is to watch. Pino rattled the crossbar and there were other moments when his team threatened. After the Wirtz goal, there was next to nothing from them, only a Pino effort after a quick break that Alisson blocked.
Liverpool eased home and it was no surprise when Alexander Isak glossed the scoreline towards the end. When he lashed a shot past Dean Henderson from Wirtz’s touch, it was the prompt for thousands of Palace supporters to make for the exits. Their club are in a parlous position as they look up at everyone else from the bottom. It was a fourth league defeat on the spin and the late penalty from Eddie Nketiah, on as a substitute, barely seemed to register. It was Palace’s first goal during that run of losses.
There was no anger, no boos for the players at full time. And there does not appear to be any appetite from the crowd for the manager, Pierre Sage, to be dismissed even if that is surely looking like his destiny. The problems are not all of his making; the recruitment was simply not good enough in the summer. It was certainly telling that he mentioned afterwards how he wanted to “adjust a few things in the winter transfer window.”
Sage spoke well, insisting he was confident he would remain in charge for Palace’s matches after the international break – Coventry (away), Hull (home). “I have not gone from the dream to the nightmare,” he said. “I know we have to push more things, especially in our level of playing. We have a lack of efficiency.”
Palace were reasonably secure when they defended in a low block. The problems came after they conceded the opening goal with yet more lax marking on a set piece. Thereafter, Liverpool had the spaces they craved in the transitions. Even at 0-0, the visitors looked more dangerous in open play on the counter. When they broke with numbers in the 26th minute, Palace were indebted to Adam Wharton for a saving challenge on Isak after Wirtz had pulled back from the right.
Liverpool began with a flurry. They took shots from distance. Barcola wanted a penalty following a nudge in his back from Óscar Mingueza; there was not enough in it. In a sign of things to come, Mac Allister darted for the near post onto a Szoboszlai free-kick and flashed a header wide. There was the moment when Cody Gakpo volleyed across the face of goal only there was nobody there.
Palace almost took the lead in the 18th minute with their first forward thrust. Tyrick Mitchell played the final pass, clubbed in low from the left and Pino did well to bring it under his spell. His shot flew over Alisson and crashed against the crossbar.
Palace did not deserve to trail at the interval. They threatened up the left through Mitchell and Pino. Jørgen Strand Larsen had a goal ruled out for offside while Daichi Kamada was denied by Alisson after catching a volley sweetly. After the Mac Allister goal, Wharton had Alisson scrambling to touch behind after he stretched to reach a Pino ball in. Following a few recent wobbles, Alisson’s performance was a major plus for Liverpool.
Quick Guide
How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
In the Guardian app, tap the Profile settings button at the top right, then select Notifications. Turn on sport notifications.
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
If you don’t have the Guardian app, download it from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
Barcola had blazed a volley high when well-placed from a deep Szoboszlai cross just before the Mac Allister goal and it did not feel as though the breakthrough was coming for Liverpool. There was fury among the Palace support because they did not think the referee, Tony Harrington, ought to have penalised Jefferson Lerma for a foul on Gakpo.
It was a soft award but the decision was right. It did not excuse Palace’s inability to defend the Szoboszlai set piece. It was just too easy for Mac Allister to direct the free header. Liverpool might have scored from yet another Szoboszlai free-kick in first-half stoppage time only Ronald Araújo could not properly reach a Jérémy Jacquet flick.
Palace felt the belief crumble after the Wirtz goal and it became a gentle slide towards the inevitable. Isak was denied one-on-one by Henderson but not when opportunity knocked for him again shortly afterwards. “We needed this win, definitely,” said a relieved Andoni Iraola. “It was important to score first and we controlled the second half.”
Leave a Reply