Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season against Crystal Palace, with some painful lessons for Arne Slot’s champions at Selhurst Park
Liverpool have been dealt a rare blow after experiencing their first defeat of the season in the fashion that had become their own trademark.
The Reds seemed to have salvaged a draw against Crystal Palace thanks to Federico Chiesa’s late equaliser at Selhurst Park, but Eddie Nketiah’s 97th-minute goal secured a victory for the home team. Arne Slot’s squad has shown tenacity numerous times this season, with Liverpool becoming known for their last-minute goals, but defensive frailties persist.
Prior to the weekend, all but one of the Reds’ matches – the derby win over Everton – had been decided by goals scored in the final 10 minutes. Despite Chiesa’s valiant efforts, Liverpool’s winning streak came to an end against Palace. Slot has received commendation for consistently leading his team to triumph while integrating new signings into his championship-winning side.
The Reds were missing the suspended Hugo Ekitike against Palace, which led to Alexander Isak being given his first league start and Florian Wirtz being reinstated to the starting line-up. Here’s all the latest news from Anfield.
Richards voices concerns about Konate
Micah Richards has voiced concerns over Ibrahima Konate’s performances for Liverpool, suggesting the defender’s dip in form is causing issues for the Reds’ backline, reports the Mirror.
Since joining the Anfield side in 2021, Konate has often been paired with Virgil van Dijk, but Richards believes the 26-year-old’s game has slipped of late.
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, Richards said: “Konate is starting to worry me a little bit. Him and Van Dijk have been a good partnership, they’ve done really well together, but his individual errors at this moment in time are just making the backline look a bit nervy.
“You know Liverpool always look good in defence, Van Dijk always marshals the backline, but they give Palace too many opportunities for no actual reason, it was just being sloppy, and that is so unlike Liverpool.”
Alan Shearer also chimed in on Liverpool’s defensive woes, adding: “They were all over the place, particularly defensively. The way Palace moved the ball, the way they closed down, they just didn’t have an answer to that, particularly in the first half.
“You saw them rip them open five or six times with really good play. Liverpool, after so many errors, that were allowing Palace to play at their tempo. If it wasn’t for Alisson, it would have been four or five at half-time.”
Chris Richards calls out controversial VAR call
Whilst Liverpool contemplate their first loss of the campaign, Palace defender Chris Richards slammed the decision that nearly allowed the Reds to preserve their perfect start to the season.
Richards found himself inadvertently involved in Liverpool’s equaliser, managing only a partial clearance from Ryan Gravenberch’s delivery that allowed Chiesa to find the net.
Nevertheless, doubts emerged over whether Mohamed Salah had used his hand before the ball reached Richards, although the strike was eventually permitted to stand.
The Premier League Match Centre confirmed on X: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed there was no conclusive evidence that Salah handled the ball in the build-up.”
Even after Palace secured a dramatic late victory, Richards remained frustrated with the officiating call on social media.
Reacting to a freeze-frame of the controversial moment, Richards posted on X: “I knew I wasn’t seeing things. “#Justice #thanksEddie.”
The triumph for Palace sees Oliver Glasner’s squad climb to third place in the standings, stretching their league run to 18 matches without defeat.
Slot says which team ‘deserved’ the win
Liverpool manager Slot acknowledged his team had been outplayed by Palace on Saturday, particularly throughout the first 45 minutes.
Slot confessed: “Palace deserved to be up by two or three goals in the first half. They created three of four very good chances and we were lucky Alisson helped us.
“The second half was much better for us than the first half, we created chances which not many teams do here. It took a while for us to score a goal but to then concede another set-piece goal was disappointing in the end.
“But if one team deserved to win today it was Palace.”
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