Crystal Palace vs Liverpool: Five things we learned from another late win for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds
That’s 12 wins from 13 games for the league leaders
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool found another late route to victory as they beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
A fairly low-key first half was dominated by events just before the whistle, when James Tomkins had a header initially given, then ruled out by the VAR.
Only minutes into the second period, though, Sadio Mane put the league-leaders in front, before both sides traded strikes late on in the game.
Wilf Zaha netted the equaliser for Palace with less than ten minutes left on the clock, but Roberto Firmino scored the winner five minutes later.
Here are five things we learned from the game, as the Reds took another important step toward their target of the title.
VAR subjectivity continues to divide
Palace thought they had taken the lead just before half time, after James Tomkins headed home from close range. A VAR review, however, ruled out the ‘goal’.
Dejan Lovren certainly had hands on his back as the cross came in, but whether it was enough for him to go down or whether it had any impact on the ball landing in the back of the net were both points of contention very much up for debate.
Should such instances be ruled out, subjective as they are and having been missed first time around? Should only directly influential moments of play count in the review?
Until all such potential avenues of enquiry are clarified and adhered to, arguments and disenchantment with the implementation of VAR will continue.
Palace felt hard done-by, naturally, but perhaps Liverpool will say such fouls in the box should be spotted initially anyway.
Room for improvement for Trent the defender
Going forward, there might not be a better full-back in world football. Defensively, though, Trent Alexander-Arnold is still a work in progress.
Teams target him from time to time, while tricky wide players with pace have shown where his areas for improvement are on sporadic occasions over the past two years.
Here, his first 45 minutes was one to forget for the most part: a back-pass to Alisson which went out for a corner, a misplaced cross-pitch pass which gifted Palace a chance on goal, runs which went unchecked into the box and a cheap free-kick given away which led to that curtailed Tomkins celebration.
The second half saw an improvement, but he was still beaten and then caught out of position for the equaliser.
These infrequent below-par games show there’s definite room for improvement in what is already an incredibly talented young player.
Liverpool’s Mane man
Sadio Mane loves a goal against Crystal Palace.
He did, in fairness, look the Reds’ most likely source of danger in a largely poor first half, and it took him only a couple of minutes to make good on his threat after the break.
One quick run through the centre should have yielded the opener, only for Mane to fire wide, before he awkwardly half-volleyed home just two minutes later. It was his fifth goal in as many games against Palace, and his eighth league goal of the season overall – an indication of his continued enormous importance to the team.
Without Mohamed Salah’s penetrating runs and scoring ability, Mane was even more crucial here and few away players gave much indication of being able to find a way through Palace’s back line.
Lack of clean sheets
Seeing the game out with comfort in defence has been a bit of an issue for Liverpool this season.
They were tremendously difficult to break down in 2018/19, having the best defensive record in the entire league, but this year has been a different matter – they have just one Premier League clean sheet since August and they conceded again here on Saturday.
Palace had wasted a few good chances already – and seen that earlier effort ruled out – before Zaha equalised, and the defending for the goal was little short of comical.
Both Alexander-Arnold and Dejan Lovren failed to stop the move down the Liverpool right, a clutch of players were drawn to the ball in the middle and Andy Robertson was outwitted by Zaha’s touch and finish.
Top they might be, but in the inevitable and ongoing quest for perfection, this is a clear area for improvement – and it could have been even more damaging had Zaha not spurned another late chance.
Relentless late Reds charges
Conceding in the last ten minutes might be a devastating blow for some teams – but it seems to push Liverpool on to thrive.
Yet again, following on from games against the likes of Leicester, Aston Villa and Man United, Liverpool once more found a way to push forward and win the game.
A corner proved the all-important route to goal, but it owed as much to Palace’s own inept defending and panic as it did to Liverpool’s own iron-clad mentality.
Roberto Firmino prodded home the winner and once more it was a Liverpool win as a result – their 12th from 13 games this season.
Ahead of the big late afternoon fixture, it means the Reds are now 12 points clear of title rivals Man City, once more transferring the pressure to Pep Guardiola’s men.
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