Liverpool lost their third successive Premier League game for the first time under Brendan Rodgers on Sunday, when they fell to a 3-1 loss against Crystal Palace. 

It all started so well for the visitors, as Rickie Lambert brought Adam Lallana's ball from deep under control and slotted under Julian Speroni for a second minute opener. But things quickly went downhill, and it was the same old problems at fault. Dwight Gayle converted the rebound after the impressive Yannick Bolasie's outside-of-the-box effort crashed off the post and into his feet, but it took until the last 12 minutes until they really came alive.

In truth, the hosts dominated the second half and the two late goals were hardly surprising. All Joe Ledley had to do was place his finish beneath the poor Simon Mignolet after Bolasie had done all the hard work to beat Lovren down the right and cross it into him inside the area, and three minutes later it was 3-1. Skrtel hustled with Gayle whilst trying to win an aerial battle and it was the Slovakian who was punished for shirt-grabbing. Palace captain Mile Jedinak stepped up and sent an excellent dipping costless-kick into the top-right corner, which summed up a another downtrodden afternoon for Liverpool.

The pressure is really on Brendan Rodgers now as he faces huge issues that could define whether he maintains his position at the club or not. Next up, a must-win clash away at Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League, which will decide their fate in the competition. But what did we learn from Palace away, going into that game? 

1. The Madrid performance has been disregarded.

The starting 11 that took to the field away at Real Madrid was criticised by many, for being perceived as a "white flag." A concession from Rodgers that Liverpool would not get anything from the game, and that they should look towards the game versus Chelsea on the weekend. The Ulsterman himself saw it differently. He suggested that rather, the weakened starting line-up was in fact equally as strong as the team that played Newcastle United a few days prior. Rodgers said that this was an opportunity for the sporadic players to prove themselves. They did. Sure, they lost 1-0, but it was one of the more spirited performances we have seen from Liverpool this season. They defended co-operatively and attacked with purpose. They were a cohesive unit again. Kolo Toure shone at the back, providing a stable defensive back-line alongside Martin Skrtel, Javier Manquillo and the tremendous Alberto Moreno. Lazar Markovic showed flashes of why the Reds purchased him, and Lucas Leiva ran the midfield, showing Steven Gerrard how to own the defensive midfield position. Surely then, with logic applied, those players deserved their shot in the starting line-up. Their superiors weren't playing any better than them, so why not? Rodgers, instead, opted to bring all those dropped back into the line-up and the results were hardly surprising. Another dismal and toothless performance came against Chelsea and with an international break to fall back on, it was expected that Rodgers would assess the situation and go back to the players who impressed. Palace came and with the teamsheets nearing in, Emre Can and Kolo Toure were names that the fans wanted. They were the players who have done themselves slight justice amongst a sea of disarrayed team-mates. They didn't feature, and again, the results were hardly surprising. So what was the Madrid game all about? It seems as though now, it really was Rodgers being cowardly, as no matter how many mistakes his first-teamers continued to commit, they always find themselves in the first 11. 

2. Brendan Rodgers is putting himself into trouble.

Six months ago, Brendan Rodgers was lauded on Merseyside. The next Bill Shankly, some said. The man to restore the club to former glories, implored others. He was a hero. The belief he brought to L4, and the fashion in which he did it, rightly ensured that he received all the plaudits. He was seen as one of the brightest young managers in European football, well equipped with a fast-paced brand of attacking football and incredible man-management, not to mention a crop of promising youngsters. All was well. But now, things have turned incredibly sour. Every substitution, or even decision, he makes, is met with groans and sighs. Rightly so, most of the time, but there have even been calls for his sacking. Yeah, that's right. Some Liverpool fans are insisting the Northern Irishman's time is up, just six months after signing his name at the top of their lungs and insisting his side were "on their way to glory." How fickle some can be. Sure, it's not good enough this season. There's no excuse for how far Liverpool have fallen yet again, but Rodgers knows that. He recognises he is at fault, and you can bet he will do his all to turn it around. Still, let's not be too kind - he deserves a lot of criticism. He took Adam Lallana and Joe Allen off when they, and Lambert, were probably the side's only performers. Yet again, his substitutions have been ill-timed and ill-judged. Why take the best performers off and replace them with players who make very little, if any, impact? Yet again, Rodgers stuck with a flawed system. The 4-2-3-1 fell short again, in the midfield, the defence and up-front. Just about everywhere, in fact. The summer's signings had plenty of sound theory behind them but the likes of Dejan Lovren have only dragged his side's form further down. But rather than bench them, they have kept their starting places. Hence why Liverpool seem to have gotten nowhere in the last few weeks. Things can change in football very quickly (See: Alan Pardew) and if Rodgers doesn't follow suit and make some radical changes, he's going to struggle to get the Anfield faithful back behind him.

3. Defensive mistakes may never be cut out. 

Four losses on the bounce in all competitions is shocking for a team of Liverpool's stature, especially given that their first-team looked poorer against Newcastle United, Chelsea and Crystal Palace than a second-string team did against the European champions, Real Madrid. It all stems from the simply inadequate defence. Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel's defensive partnership is bordering on shambolic, even worse than that of Liverpool's below-par central defensive performances that saw cost them the league last year. Alberto Moreno was dropped in favour of Glen Johnson, who looked typically uninterested and slow to react to anything. Javier Manquillo, on-loan from Atletico Madrid, looked the only defender who can actually, well, defend. Behind him, Simon Mignolet's form is typically summed up by his costless-kick which he sent into the dug-out. Leadership-wise, the Reds are scarce. Even Steven Gerrard has to come in for criticism. The skipper's form is terrible, as is his positioning and defensive awareness in the furthest back midfield position. Despite such a good season last year, at least on the surface, he looks mediocre at best - and yet continues to play week-in, week-out. It's the same issues every week that are costing the Reds. The same players are at fault every time, yet they're still prioritised over those who have actually performed.  They allowed a Crystal Palace side who hadn't won a game since September to wreak havoc on them, and the defensive issues seem to be repeated every game. Simple, basic issues that should be ingrained in the minds of experienced defenders like Skrtel, who gave away the costless-kick which Mile Jedinak scored from in the 81st minute. But Lovren was as to blame, putting in yet another abject performance and being shown up by Bolasie for the second goal. Things need to be changed, or else it will be the same. Gerrard needs to be dropped for one of Can or Lucas, regardless of his status at the club. Lovren needs to be replaced by Toure, and Johnson needs to be steered as far clear from the starting line-up as possible. Skrtel too, if there were any other capable centre backs in the squad, would face the firing line. Defensively, there needs to be a radical shape-up. That's the only way that they can get avoidable individual errors and lapses in concentration out of their system.

4. Liverpool lack heart and enthusiasm. 

As Jamie Carragher rightly pointed out on Sky Sports after full-time, Liverpool weren't particularly beaten by sheer quality but rather they were exposed for a lack of urgency or fight. They never looked like they wanted to change the game after they'd fallen behind. It should have been backs to the wall, where they constantly threw everything they had at Palace, instead it just sort of, petered out. Throughout the whole 90 minutes, the hosts looked hungrier for the three points. They never outplayed the Reds, they just wanted it more. All Yannick Bolasie had to do was pick up the ball and run directly at the defence and the Reds didn't know what to do with themselves, hence the winger's impact in the first two goals. The confidence that Liverpool used to fuel their outstanding winning streak last season has been drained out of the players. As soon as they conceded the first goal, heads were down and they were never picked back up. From then on in, they never really looked like changing the outcome of the game, or even wanting to. Going forward, they never really had that bite (no pun intended) that they did last year. They don't have the want to push into the box and cause problems, instead they look ponderous in possession. The build-up is slow, and everything seems to be flat and lifeless. Their lack of desire was startling, and that ultimately, is why they are in the position they are in. Which, brings to me to my next point... 

5. This is not simply a blip in form, it's a crisis. 

It may seem a little far-fetched, but given that Liverpool's only real impressive performance of the season was back on the 31st of August, it's hard to argue against the fact that the Reds' situation is looking increasingly bleak. One decent performance in 18 games is simply not good enough and the longer Brendan Rodgers allows his side to costlessfall, the harder it will be to pick them back up. His side are currently closer to the relegation zone than they are the top four, and they've lost six from 12 games already this season after losing the same amount over the entire course of 2013-14. Whilst other teams too are faltering, Liverpool are failing to take advantage and find themselves even further behind the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United all of whom have yet to set the world alight. The Reds have been appalling on too many occasions this season, and they've barely scraped through at times, such as at QPR away. Sure, injuries have helped and there's a whole host of new signings to integrate into the side, but this is worse than "doing a Spurs" as their summer was mockingly dubbed. Liverpool overachieved last season, but to fall so far back upon what they were is scarcely believable. Long-term, the fact that practically 20 of their first-team squad are under 24 and are of a decent quality provides promise, but it's not just about the future. It's about the present and in the present, Liverpool are falling further and further behind. The title is well out of reach, just a dozen games into the campaign, but the Champions League qualification spots will be too if they don't act soon. Something has to change, or else heads will roll.