Ed Aarons reports:
And good night.
Updated
Match report coming up.
Mateta hit the bar, and so did Salah. Those were the “key events”.
Marc Guéhi has a chat with Sky Sports: “I think the team did well … a performance we can be proud of … a little bit of disappointment, as we feel we could have nicked it, but overall, a good performance.
“We started well … we had a couple of opportunities … as long as we can build on this, it’s a good thing.”
On his header that flashed wide in the first half: “I was put off by Jeff [Schlupp] a little bit … I’m not going to blame him completely! But yeah, it is what it is.
“We wanted another corner [at the end] but I think it was time."
“We’re steady at the moment. It’s important we build on this. The goals will come. The boys are working really hard. I have no doubt it will come.”
The point allows Liverpool to edge ahead of Brighton and Brentford, 36 points to 35.
Palace remain 12th, now two ahead of Forest, who were thumped earlier.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 24 | 29 | 57 |
| 2 | Man City | 25 | 39 | 55 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 24 | 13 | 49 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | 9 | 42 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 23 | 20 | 41 |
| 6 | Fulham | 25 | 5 | 39 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 23 | 10 | 36 |
| 8 | Brighton | 22 | 10 | 35 |
| 9 | Brentford | 23 | 7 | 35 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 23 | 0 | 31 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 24 | -8 | 31 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 24 | -10 | 27 |
| 13 | Nottm Forest | 24 | -24 | 25 |
| 14 | Leicester | 24 | -6 | 24 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton | 24 | -15 | 24 |
| 16 | West Ham | 24 | -6 | 23 |
| 17 | Leeds | 24 | -10 | 22 |
| 18 | Everton | 24 | -15 | 21 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 24 | -26 | 21 |
| 20 | Southampton | 24 | -22 | 18 |
Orlando isn’t feeling the kit, either.
@LukeMcLaughlin that away kit needs to be burnt it’s cursed #CRYLIV
— not bloom. (@OrlandoMoore17) February 25, 2023
“I think the key events line summed this game up,” writes Colin. “Nothing happened worth highlighting.”
Very true.
Daniel emailed me to suggest that Liverpool’s white and black away kit is reminiscent of Bridget Riley. But I’m not having that, because Bridget Riley is great, and that kit is rubbish.
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Liverpool were poor. Their timing was just off. Nothing was clicking. Or certainly not much.
A five-word email arrives from Robin, entitled “Saturday Night Football”.
“Bad idea. Poor match. End.”
Yep, no notes from me.
Full-time! Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
That Palace corner is taken by Olise but it’s a dreadful delivery that doesn’t make it past the first defender, that kind of sums up the evening … and the final whistle blows. Joachim Andersen is yelling at the ref about something … did he blow up before the corner? I didn’t think so but could be wrong. Anyway, Vieira and Klopp embrace. A good point for Palace.
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90 min + 2: Ayew does very well to win a free-kick off Robertson, who is booked. It’s a dangerous area for the free-kick … but Liverpool manage to hold firm. However, Palace win a corner.
90 min + 1: Liverpool push. But they lose it, and Olise streaks away down the right. The fresh legs of Bajcetic allow him to catch the pacy Palace man and poke the ball out.
90 min: There will be three minutes of added time.
88 min: Bajcetic gives it away cheaply and Palace advance, pushing Liverpool back into their box. It’s a nervy passage of play for the visitors, and the Eagles ping the ball around a little, but the eventual cross is cleared fairly easily.
86 min: On the sideline, Vieira anxiously issues instructions to his players. He very much looks like a man who’s desperate to hold on to a point, rather than win all three.
84 min: Stefan Bajcetic comes on for Gakpo, for Liverpool.
80 min: Liverpool are in! But they don’t score! Palace give it away in midfield. Salah sprints into space, the Eagles’ defence nowhere, and then nudges a good little ball through for Gakpo who is making an angled run into a central position. The Dutchman opens his body up and tries to clip a shot beyond the on-rushing Guaita, but it skews off his boot and away. It looks like Gakpo complains to the referee about something, but I think that’s just embarrassment.
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79 min: “Sorry to be pedantic but I did say the Real Madrid game was the exception due to their outstanding quality,” writes David. “So completely consistent. Even in that game for a while Liverpool looked closer to a third than Real Madrid did to a first. Of course, great goal, and then after Alisson’s howler they reverted to their shambolic selves.”
Yes. Quite fair.
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77 min: There is a 77th-minute moment of applause for John Motson, who died this week at the age of 77. His final commentary was at Selhurst Park.
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76 min: An email from Jeremy, entitled “South American commentators.”
“On Star Plus in Chile, non-stop mocking of Ayew … ‘A child hiding at a kids’ birthday party.’”
Harsh. But it’s not been a notable performance, you’d have to say. Or at least not notable in a positive way.
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73 min: Elliott finds space again, bending a ball over for Robertson. The full-back nods inside looking for Firmino, but the Brazilian has strayed offside.
71 min: Fabinho and Firmino on for Liverpool, with Trent Alexander-ArnoldAA and Jota off.
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70 min: Paddy Vieira mixes it up with a double change for Palace. Eze and Edouard on, Schlupp and Mateta off.
66 min: Gakpo and Jota try to make inroads near the Palace area. The hosts win it back, and break quickly – the game opening up a touch. Olise has Henderson on toast down the wing, cutting in, and is fouled by his trailing opponent, just outside the area. Henderson holds his hands up to protest his innocence. Palace have a free-kick in a testing position as far as Liverpool are concerned. A tight angle but a dangerous spot … Olise hits a very poor set-piece, which doesn’t make it over the two-man wall. A waste.
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64 min: Palace have loads of numbers forward for the first time in a while. Liverprool are pinned back. A stunning, impudent bit of skill by Olise, who is having a tremendous game, buys the space for a cross out on the right. Then he wins a corner. But Alisson gathers and the danger passes for Klopp’s men.
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62 min: I agree with Bobby. Gomez had a horrible night against Real Madrid, but it wasn’t all his fault.
The one that did astonish me was the set-piece for the third when Gomez simply froze at that near post. That was the centre-back’s equivalent of a darts player’s yips, you fear.
@LukeMcLaughlin re: Gomez. He’s had some 1v1 (or 1v3 for Vini’s 1st) blunders, but the space issues come from the press failing, which exposes TAA, and Hendo/Fabinho (not) covering that space, which gives a free run at poor Joey G, whose confidence is shot.
— Bobby Moore (@hankbobbym) February 25, 2023
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60 min: “I seem to remember a game earlier this week where Liverpool scored early - twice even! - and didn’t exactly come away looking like worldbeaters,” writes Adam.
Yes, fine, but why let facts get in the way of a sweeping generalisation? That would be my view.
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57 min: Liverpool, who are wearing an unattractive black-and-white kit that is “strobing” like anything on my screen, win two corners in succession. Matip squeezes a shot in the direction of the near post first time round, but Guaita saves. Jota then has a chance from a tight angle but blazes it high over the bar.
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55 min: Alexander-Arnold whips a trademark ball from the wing, around halfway, into the danger zone. Guehi clears, conceding a corner in the process.
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53 min: After the freakish thrill of Salah hitting the woodwork, the game’s gone back to being pretty drab. Mind you, Elliott injects a bit of quality again, putting his foot on it near the Palace box and probing their defence with another aerial ball. The hosts get it clear, but Elliott has looked a class apart since he came on, what with his ability to trap a ball and pass in the direction of a teammate.
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51 min: “If Liverpool score early they look like world beaters. If not they look like a relegation team,” emails David. “That’s not just this season but it was ever thus. Just in previous seasons they managed to ride it and still get the win. Of course, the exception was Real Madrid who really showed up Liverpool’s limitations.”
Yes, there is absolutely something in that. There was that game they got absolutely hammered by Villa, and that is when they were really good. You can stamp on the small flower of Liverpool’s confidence when you get it right.
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49 min: Alexander-Arnold drills a ball in from the right. Jota hits it first-time, but the ball is blocked at his feet … it squirts to Salah, who curls a delightful first-time shot, left-footed, that curls past Guaita … and hits the crossbar! So close!
48 min: Schlupp now gets on the end of a good cross having made a run deep to the far post for Palace. It flicks off a defender and Liverpool clear.
46 min: Elliott is involved immediately, clipping a cross in for Jota. The Portuguese nearly gets on the end of it, but Clyne does well to put him off.
Second half kick off!
Harvey Elliott is on for Liverpool. Keita off.
This is immaculately coiffed.
“In fairness to Joachim Andersen and his staff of nine,” writes Justin, “he is always so immaculately coiffed that the old Warren Zevon line pops into my head whenever I watch him play:
‘I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s. And his hair was perfect.’”
“Klopp termed the team mentality monsters for a few years and he was right,” emails Neil. “The sheer number of basic errors in the team is shocking right now and I haven’t settled on an alternate term. Muppets? Malfeasance? Mentality Malpractice?”
MALFEASANCE MONSTERS
You want half-time reading? I give you Barney Ronay and Jonathan Wilson:
Half time! Crystal Palace 0-0 Liverpool
That wasn’t the best half of football, if we are honest. But there were a couple of chances for both sides … Mateta should really have Palace in front, after an absolutely terrible error by Alexander-Arnold saw him dispossessed by Schlupp. Klopp will be getting the hairdryer out for TAA and Matip, you suspect, because they have looked well dodgy on that side of the pitch.
43 min: “What the f*ck is TAA doing!?” emails Joe. (His asterisk, not mine.)
I don’t know, TBH. That was really, really bad. And it should be 1-0 to Palace.
And now there is more nervy defending on that side of the pitch from Matip! He mis-controls and mis-kicks and nearly lets Palace in again.
41 min: Woeful defending by Alexander-Arnold – he has his pocket picked by Schlupp in the Liverpool box. Schlupp immediately squares for Mateta, who sidefoots a powerful rising effort on to the crossbar and away!
He’s got to hit the target there.
Updated
39 min: Olise meets a deep cross for Palace by volleying it first-time back into the danger zone. It cannons off a Liverpool leg, and flashes just past a post. Close!
A couple of minutes before that, Keita – who has already been booked, for a foul on Olise – snapped into another tackle. Careful.
37 min: Better from Palace. Olise finds more space, this time on the Eagles’ right wing. He bends in another brilliant cross through the six-yard box, with tonnes of whip and pace. Schlupp rises to head it, and he gets a flick on it, but cannot direct it anywhere near the goal. Vieira is pictured on the sidelines, willing the ball into the net. Palace need to have another go, but that was a positive sign.
Updated
34 min: I say it’s been brighter recently, but it’s still not very good. I had high hopes for tonight… if I was a Palace fan I’d definitely have hoped for a bit more throwing-the-kitchen-sink at Liverpool, who clearly are wobbling, confidence-wise.
Updated
31 min: It’s been brighter in the past 10 minutes. Liverpool are looking a bit slicker in their passing. Palace seemingly remain unable to build any meaningful pressure.
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28 min: Salah backheels the set-piece to Alexander-Arnold who hammers a powerful, curling shot that is arrowing around the defensive wall. It looks destined to nestle in the top corner … but Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, standing on the end of that wall, accidentally heads it clear! He could not get out of the way of his teammate’s sweetly-struck effort. That was 1-0 all day. Until the ball hit Henderson’s noggin, that is. The Palace fans cheer again. Much louder this time … but their team is under pressure here.
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27 min: Clyne, the former Liverpool man, crunches into a tackle with Jota on the edge of the box. He goes in the book, but more worryingly, Liverpool have a free-kick right on the edge. Ronald Koeman v Graham Taylor’s England territory. Is Salah going to flick one?
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25 min: The commentator tells us that Joachim Andersen of Palace “has a personal staff of nine” including a defensive consultant. He points out that they are not full-time. But still. Nine staff!
In my day we were happy with five or six.
23 min: Now Palace have their own free kick … Olise whips it in with pace and accuracy. Guehi meets the excellent delivery with a powerful header, and his effort flashes fractionally wide of the far post! Close for Palace …
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21 min: Liverpool have a free-kick in an advanced area after a foul by Olise. Robertson bends it in, left-footed. Matip gets on the end of it, and loops a half-volleyed cross to the far post, where Jota is lurking. But the ball veers out of play before Jota can head it, and his header bounces back, slightly comically, off the side of the post and out for a goal kick. The Palace fans cheer with delight.
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20 min: Jota tees up Keita on the edge of the hosts’ box. But the Palace defenders snap into a tackle or two and the chance evaporates.
18 min: Robertson whips a low ball in from the left. It falls kindly for Jota, who belts a sweet shot down the middle, straight at Guaita. The goalie does well to take the heat out of the shot, getting both hands to it and gathering after it bounces. Decent effort by Jota though. Excitement at last! (Sort of.)
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16 min: Space for Olise to run through midfield for Palace. But they lack numbers, and the move breaks down, in fact after a high boot gives Liverpool a free-kick. Palace are really set up to defend and nick one on the break. It’s symptomatic of their desperate need for a win, of course, but you fancy Liverpool can be “got at” if the hosts are willing to have a go.
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13 min: Oh dear! Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold and Matip get in a muddle when trying to play out from the back, after a pass out from Alisson. The ball suddenly drops for Mateta, a gift straight from Alexander-Arnold, and he’s essentially one-on-one with the Liverpool gloveman. The forward tries to scoop a shot over or around the goalie, but it diverts out for a corner. It wasn’t a convincing effort by any means. And it wasn’t convincing play from Liverpool either. In summary: unconvincing.
(Nothing comes of the corner, either.)
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“What’s going to happen? Am I excited?” emails Matt Dony. “I mean, based on much of the season so far, Liverpool are going to be disappointing. And no, I am not excited. Still, they probably won’t be worse than Wales’ 6 Nations campaign so far …”
10 min: Judging by the first 10 minutes, I reckon I could probably take a quick nap and not miss much. But I know you’re out there, dear readers, so I will press on. Now Salah hits a shot wide from an angle for Liverpool! Close … no, close-ish. Never really looked a threatening effort, but at least it was an effort.
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8 min: Gakpo is fouled, it looks like, by Guehi on the edge of the box, again with banks of Palace defenders in close attendance. The referee appears to play an advantage. There is no advantage gained, and as the co-commentator says, Liverpool would have taken a free-kick there.
6 min: Liverpool stroke the ball around at the back. They soon move into the Palace half and Jota has a sniff of a chance, from distance, when the ball flicks off his marker. But Palace are in position to repel the danger again.
4 min: Mateta chases a hopeful ball into a channel for the home team. Nothing doing. Palace are set up to defend, first and foremost, it seems fair to say. It’s a bit of a flat start from both sides. The crowd is making plenty of noise, though.
2 min: Liverpool win a throw on their right wing, deep in Palace territory. Alexander-Arnold waits for a while, so long in fact that the Palace players start to complain about the delay. He lobs it for Salah, who makes a run into the box, but Palace clear their lines.
Updated
First half kick-off!
Here. We. Go.
Here we go then. The teams are out on the pitch. Jordan Ayew has a final sip of his drink, and runs out on to the pitch, high-fiving and low-fiving his teammates as he goes.
Erling Haaland … he’s done it again!
Kick off in sunny Norwood is just five minutes away. What is going to happen? Are you excited? Email me or tweet, via the links above.
For Mikel Arteta, read Baxter Basics:
Patrick Vieira is asked about … yes! You guessed it, Wilfried Zaha, who is still absent injured: “Hamstring issues, you want to be 100% sure, you don’t want to take any risk, the best decision was to give him another week and train with the team.
“The results are what they are … we need to perform at a better level, for 95 minutes, with a better concentration, and try to turn things around … at times we were unlucky not to take three points but we have work to do to win those games.”
Klopp is asked about his changes. Based on form, or freshness? “It was about freshness. We need fresh legs, that was clear … again, a week with three games coming up, you cannot “force them through”, and we don’t have to.
“Very important [to build on the good bits from Tuesday] … we need the same desire and excitement as before the Madrid game … people told me we had a good 20 minutes, but the whole first half was good … anyway, that’s it, in general I would say the last three games show we are going in the right direction and we need to build on that.”
No surprise to see Joe Gomez left out by Klopp tonight. He had a torrid time against Real Madrid. I saw the theory expounded that Gomez has often been left exposed by the marauding Trent Alexander-Arnold but I am not sure that applied on Tuesday.
Reports and roundups from today, if you missed anything– including West Ham’s 4-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa’s 2-0 win at Everton:
City seal that 4-1 win, and there are two points in it at the top
Which all means – unless Bournemouth score three goals in stoppage time – that Arsenal top the table by two points from City:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 24 | 29 | 57 |
| 2 | Man City | 25 | 39 | 55 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 24 | 13 | 49 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | 9 | 42 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 23 | 20 | 41 |
| 6 | Fulham | 25 | 5 | 39 |
| 7 | Brighton | 22 | 10 | 35 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 22 | 10 | 35 |
| 9 | Brentford | 23 | 7 | 35 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 23 | 0 | 31 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 24 | -8 | 31 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 23 | -10 | 26 |
| 13 | Nottm Forest | 24 | -24 | 25 |
| 14 | Leicester | 24 | -6 | 24 |
| 15 | Wolverhampton | 24 | -15 | 24 |
| 16 | West Ham | 24 | -6 | 23 |
| 17 | Leeds | 24 | -10 | 22 |
| 18 | Everton | 24 | -15 | 21 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 24 | -26 | 21 |
| 20 | Southampton | 24 | -22 | 18 |
Earlier today, “The Arsenal” won 1-0 away at Leicester, thanks to a goal scored by Gabriel Martinelli.
Manchester City are handing out a drubbing to Bournemouth right now – they are 4-1 up inside the final five minutes. Four goals must surely amount to a statement of intent. Scott Murray has the story:
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Teams
Patrick Vieira names an unchanged side from last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Brentford, when the Eagles were denied victory in stoppage time.
The injured winger Wilfried Zaha remains out while Arsenal loanee Sambi Lokonga will make his second start for the club. Joel Ward, back from injury, is on the bench.
Jürgen Klopp makes four changes from the Liverpool side that lost 5-2 to Real Madrid, with Diogo Jota replacing Darwin Nunez.
Joe Gomez is not in the squad after a very, very difficult evening against Real, while Naby Keita, Joel Matip and James Milner return to the starting XI. Fabinho and Stefan Bajcetic are among the substitutes.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Doucoure, Lokonga, Schlupp, Olise, Mateta, Ayew.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Milner, Keita, Jota, Salah, Gakpo.
Starting XI ✅
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) February 25, 2023
🧡 @shophumm #CPFC | #CRYLIV
Our line-up to take on Crystal Palace tonight 👊#CRYLIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 25, 2023
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Preamble
“It’s not so important what they think when you come in,” Jürgen Klopp once said. “It’s much more important what people think when you leave.” He shared that wisdom on becoming Liverpool manager in 2015.
If that sounds like an introduction to a premature eulogy for Klopp’s Anfield tenure, it is not intended as such. But the end has surely never seemed closer than last Tuesday night on Merseyside, when Klopp’s team were torn apart, outclassed and outplayed by the European champions Real Madrid.
Perhaps that painful humiliation will galvanise Klopp; perhaps it will feed his motivation to renew the squad, to reset collective goals and restore things to the levels of 2019 and 2020. Or maybe, when all is said and done, it will be recognised as the most significant milestone on a gradual descent.
We will know a little more in a few hours, after Liverpool have attempted to find a way past Patrick Vieira’s progressive, skilful yet under-performing (or certainly under-resulting) side in south east London. Vieira and his players may sense an opportunity to capitalise on any potential hesitancy or tension in the visiting ranks after their sobering experience a few days ago.
“I don’t compare myself with these genius managers from the past,” Klopp also said in 2015, referring to Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish. “None of these great managers said in his first press conference: ‘My target is I want to be a legend.’”
Regardless, legendary status has been achieved. Klopp’s status is secure, his bond with Liverpool fans unbreakable. But where do they go from here?
Kick-off: 7.45pm
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