Football News: Liverpool v Crystal Palace - A Liverpool Perspective

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Liverpool v Crystal Palace A Liverpool Perspective

Was that possibly Liverpool's best performance of the season? It is hard to pick fault with anything that happened from a Reds' perspective or to find anything to say about the game itself. Certainly it is going to be a real struggle to find anything to criticise! It was overwhelming dominance from start to finish, so no surprise Palace were unable to even get a kick inside the LFC box. They never threatened at all.

It was not like Palace just rolled over and let Liverpool win either, they defended hard, it was just that every time they got the ball they were quickly swarmed and lost it before they could get anywhere. That was the famous 'gegenpress', keeping the opponent compressed into their own half and allowing them no chance to even get a breather by holding onto possession.

A deep-lying defensive system like Palace employ is simply unable to cope with a high press attack which works well. It can handle the high press when it is not at its best. This season no one has managed to find a system which could handle Liverpool when they play well, most have been put to the sword even when the Reds are not playing well, so it is no shame for Hodgson's men to lose.

Crystal Palace

Roy Hodgson - he would not have enjoyed his return to Anfield, despite Klopp's nice words before kick-off explaining how he had been told to study footage of Hodgson's time with Switzerland to learn about the game when he was doing his coaching badges. I can only imagine how much face rubbing went on in this match as Roy must have been in absolute despair at seeing his team dismantled so easily. He had no answer but at least he will have some footage to study to learn about how to play the game with a bit of attacking flair.

Hennessey - absolutely no chance with the goals and really did nothing particularly wrong. It was a night to forget for the Welshman, though he has no real blame attached to him, it was clear the defence were not as confident and organised with him behind them, rather than first choice keeper Guaita.

Ward - given an absolute roasting by Mane last night and got little to no protection from Townsend, who had his own hands full with Robertson. Ward was outclassed, even though the system played protects full-backs from exposure.

Cahill - lacks any understanding with Sakho, but also looked his age and really struggled with the movement around him. If ever a night is going to give you thoughts of retirement, that was it.

Sakho - the French centre back has not played since New Year's Day, when he went off injured at half-time, but he looked like a player that had not played for years. His big weakness is his tendency to get carried away and over play, that was on full show time and time again. Added to that, his positioning was all over the place, his touch was off and he looked off the pace of the game. A really poor performance.

van Aanholt - always struggled defensively, but last night was a bad night for him. Despite his pace he still got caught out by Salah's runs, particularly on the Egyptian's goal.

McCarthy - moaned to the ref well, but that seemed about all he had to offer to the Palace cause.

Kouyate - played a large part in keeping the score down to just 4 as he cut out a fair number of balls through and tackled back really well. Did nothing on the ball, but off the ball he was without doubt Palace's best player on the night.

McArthur - worked hard but failed to have any effect on the game at all.

Townsend - utterly anonymous. Failed to help out Ward at all and got torn apart by Robertson constantly.

Zaha - an injury picked up in the warm up ended his game before it really could get started. When he went off so did Palace's hopes of picking up something from the game.

Ayew - had a torrid night with almost no service and struggled to impact on the game at all.

Meyer - the German was the chosen replacement for Zaha on 15 minutes but he failed miserably to get involved. He has looked nothing like the player he was supposed to be before signing for Palace. It had been thought of as a coup at the time, now it looks like a huge mistake.

Milivojevic - replaced Kouyate in the 66th minute as Hodgson looked to bolt the stable door. Struggled to get into the game at all.

Reidewald - came on at the same time as Milivojevic but in place of McArthur. Offered even less than the Scot had done.

Keutcha - the youngster was brought on in the 84th minute and chased around but could not get hold of the ball.

Liverpool

Klopp - a masterclass in management from Jurgen. He is truly cementing his place in the pantheon of Liverpool legends this season. Everytime it seems like the team is in trouble and performances are dipping, Jurgen steps in and motivates the players into producing something special. This was reminiscent of the extraodinary battering that was handed out to Leicester after the team came back from Qatar and were supposedly too jetlagged to cope with a Foxes team that were flying high at the time. This was a huge dismantling of a Palace team that had been in excellent form and a fantastic performances.

Alisson - the person who most suffered from having no crowd there as there was no one for him to chat to once he had finished his sudoku and realised cross-stitch is impossible while wearing the gloves. It did give him a lot of time to google celebration memes to send to Ederson today...

Alexander-Arnold - he was brilliant this season and once more he showed that he is more than just hype and overexcitement because he is 'the Scouser in the team'. Trent is the real deal and has a fantastic delivery. What a free kick! Once more Trent delivered when it matters and you cannot ask any more of a young player than that.

Gomez - Gomez has grown as a player this season, before the lockdown he was outperforming even the imperious van Dijk, which takes a lot of doing. In this match he was once again outstanding and really looks to be the perfect partner for van Dijk. His recovery pace frees up Alexander-Arnold to take more chances in attack and his defensive ability makes the risk pay off.

van Dijk - the kind of game he was born for. On days like that van Dijk is utterly dominant, he seems to grow and frighten opposing forwards into submission before the game even kicks off. Then they try and play in areas away from him, only to find Gomez gives them nothing either. It kills their game dead, as they just lose hope of getting anything from it. Added to that, van Dijk offers so much on the ball that he is more than just shutting the opposition out, he is creating chances too.

Robertson - Liverpool really missed his drive and workrate (and left foot) against Everton. It is not just the balance he gives the side, it is his determination and his willingness to take on anyone head on without care for reputation. Against Palace he was excellent, dominating the flank and taking the game to them.

Fabinho - probably his best game in a Liverpool shirt, he was sensational and his goal was the cherry on top of the icing on the cake. He completely shut down the Palace team and kept their midfield out of the game.

Henderson - he was here, there and everywhere leading from the front like a true captain should. This season has cemented his legacy as one of the better captains Liverpool have had, despite how difficult a start he has had. I doubt anyone has ever had such a difficult task as Henderson did to inherit the armband from one of the club's own in Gerrard, who was beloved by the fans. With so much crap from the media aimed in his direction, he has shown his mettle by just taking it all in his stride (even if he can't run properly hey Fergie?) and leading the team to trophy after trophy. If only he could get the goals his play deserves!

Wijnaldum - had an excellent game, helping to maintain dominance of the ball and breaking into the box, but he really should have scored at least once. Though that would probably have been harsh on Palace to concede 5, as that becomes embarrassing then and they did not deserve to be embarrassed. Gini was much more involved in driving the play forward and had a very good game. Then shifted to left-back for the final few minutes and did a good job there for the team.

Salah - it is hard to believe that there are people who feel we should be looking to sell him and that he does not offer enough to the team. Salah is so important to the way Liverpool play, most of the time he is double-covered creating space elsewhere for the team and when that double-cover is not available he usually scores. And what an excellent goal he scored, but it was bettered by his first-time pass with his wrong foot for Mane's goal. It is just a shame he messed up a chance to play Minamino in, probably caught in two minds about whether to shoot or pass and ended up doing neither.

Mane - growing in stature as a player each season to such an extent that it is difficult to argue against him being the best in his position in world football. Once more he caused havoc and was excellent. Palace simply could not handle him.

Firmino - showed some lovely footwork and worked hard to ensure the team won back possession high. He really does need to get a goal at Anfield this season though. Everything else he does is world class, but his finishing is just not there at the moment. The rest of his game makes up for it.

Oxlade-Chamberlain - came on in the 64th minute for Henderson and gave a fresh impetus to the play with his movement. Everytime he plays in central midfield he impresses more and more. Against Palace he just kept the pressure on and never let them have any respite at all.

Williams - replaced Alexander-Arnold in the 74th minute and there was no noticeable drop in performance having him there rather than Trent. In just about any other team in the league he would probably be first choice with his quality and lovely quick feet.

Minamino - came on along with Williams but to replace Firmino and slotted in up front in place of the Brazilian. Looked much more comfortable in the centre and offered a lot more than against Everton, but is still clearly not at the same level as Firmino, though he has similar luck in front of goal!

Elliott - was brought on in the 84th minute in place of Robertson, as Klopp reshuffled. Elliott played on the left, something I had not see him do before and he never got a chance to really get into the game and have an effect.

Keita - arrived at the same time as Elliott, but took Mane's place. Like Elliott, he had little time to get properly involved.

Written by Tris Burke June 27 2020 09:37:51