The lunchtime kick-off on Saturday involved top of the table Liverpool travelling south to face Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. At this point in the season Palace sit in the bottom three.
The Eagles started brightly as summer signing Eddie Nketiah put them 1-0 up within 25 seconds. However, this goal was chalked off for offside.
It was a pass by Kostas Tsimikas that cut open the Palace backline and allowed Diogo Jota to put the Reds 1-0 up in the 9th minute. The Eagles were unable to find a way back into the game.
A contentious penalty call
Palace were perhaps unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty midway through the second half, when captain Marc Guehi appeared to be dragged down by Virgil van Dijk in the six-yard box following a corner.
This result confirmed that it is the Eagles worst start to a season since the 2017/18 season, where they also had not won a game in their first seven matches.
Although they created plenty of chances in the second half, Glasner will be desperate to get the team their first win after the international break to boost the morale of the squad.
Here are VAVEL UK’s Crystal Palace player ratings:
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Crystal Palace Player Ratings
Dean Henderson - 6
The England international made a few key saves throughout the 90 minutes to keep Palace in the game. This included a wonderful parry of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot just wide of the goal at the start of the second half.
However, at times his distribution remains questionable as he was only able to complete two out of 19 accurate long balls.
Henderson was wrong footed for the goal and could not have done much about it, with members of his defence caught sleeping.
Daniel Munoz - N/A
Was withdrawn after 17 minutes due to a hip injury. Glasner will be hoping that this is not a long-term injury.
During his time on the pitch he was his usual self, pressing the opponent and getting up and down the right flank.
Maxence Lacroix - 7
A terrific display from the Frenchman. His presence at the back was a key reason why the Eagles did not concede more.
He made four clearances and two blocks during the clash with Liverpool.
He also created one key chance when a through ball found Ismaila Sarr on the edge of the area.
Marc Guehi - 6
A good performance from the captain as he made several clearances to deny the Liverpool attack.
Was involved in the contentious penalty incident, when the England international appeared to be tugged back by Reds captain Van Dijk. VAR deemed no penalty to be given as there was not sustained holding and the incident did not have a strong enough impact on play.
Trevoh Chalobah - 5
In general, the debutant defended quite well. However, the Chelsea loanee will not be pleased to have been beaten by Jota for the Liverpool goal, given the defender appeared to always be in control of the situation.
Tyrick Mitchell – 4
The attacking contribution needed to play the left-wing back role appears to be lacking with Mitchell quite restricted as he played numerous mis-hit crosses and failed to beat his man.
Adam Wharton – 5
Reads the game magnificently as always with his wonderful passing range.
However, it is clear that the midfielder is visibly struggling with fitness issues which are preventing Wharton from showing his full ability. The international break should allow Wharton some much needed rest with Palace in close contact with the FA regarding his availability for England U21s.
Jefferson Lerma - 6
Made 10 ball recoveries and did not allow Liverpool chance to break on the counter, effectively shielding the defence.
The Colombian did have one shot at goal, however, this went wide of the net.
Ismaila Sarr – 6
Brought energy to Glasner’s side with his speed. Had a great chance at the end of the first half, courtesy of Lacroix, to level the score but failed to take the opportunity.
His directness caused problems early on, and when moved to wing-back, Sarr helped to provide attacking width.
Eberechi Eze - 5
So far this term, Eze has had the third most amount of shots in the Premier League with 27 in his 7 appearances and he has only been able to find the back of the net with one of these shots. Eze's wastefulness continued once again today.
The England international had a good opportunity after Mateta had played a pass through to the Eze, leaving him one-on-one with substitute goalie Vítĕzslav Jaroš, but Eze could only place his shot tamely into the hands of Jaroš as opposed to the back of the net.
Eddie Nketiah – 5
Was found offside in the first minute so his goal was unable to stand and perhaps the striker should have done better. Nketiah registered the least number of touches of any outfield player that completed 90 minutes with only 25.
Palace fans will be hoping that the former Arsenal striker can have more of a contribution against Nottingham Forest after the international break.
Substitutes
Nathaniel Clyne - 4
Was introduced in the first half for Munoz. However, he was unable to replicate the Colombian’s tenacity and was switched to playing out of position at left wing-back during the second 45.
Will Hughes - 6
Was brought on at the hour mark and picked up a booking. Hughes helped to change momentum, winning tackles and making successful ball recoveries and adding much needed bite in the middle of the park.
Palace appeared to be better in the second half after he was introduced, with Mateta playing his part in creating key chances for his teammates. The Frenchman probably should have released the ball a earlier to give Eze a greater chance when Palace were three-on-one late on in the game.
Daichi Kamada – N/A
Was dropped from the starting eleven and only managed eight minutes from the bench.
During his short cameo he made one successful headed clearance. However, his passing was often inaccurate as he only made one of four accurate passes.
