On the evening of April 14, the 33rd round of the English Premier League continued, with third-ranked Liverpool hosting 15th-ranked Crystal Palace. In the end, Liverpool conceded one goal in the first half, and 22 shots on goal were fruitless, and they lost the game with a score of 0-1 at home, and they are already 2 points behind Manchester City in the standings.
The Reds' recent form has slipped as they were beaten by Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals and then 2-2 by the Red Devils in the last round of the league, and the top spot has been overtaken by Arsenal on goal difference. With Manchester City winning 5-1 in the first game of this round, Liverpool has fallen to the third place before the game. In the Europa League in midweek, they sent a number of substitutes to fight, but they were humiliated by the Serie A team at Anfield, losing 0-3 and having little hope of advancing to the last four.
In this game, Liverpool, which cannot afford to lose, except for Jones to replace Szobosloy to start, did its best in the rest of the positions, and captain Alisson returned from injury to start the game. Salah, Nunez, and Dias fired at the same time, and McAllister, Van Dijk, Robertson and other main players also made their debuts.
Crystal Palace has not tasted victory in the last five rounds of the league, suffered two consecutive league defeats after a 2-4 defeat at home to Manchester City in the last round, and is 5 points above the relegation zone with 2 rounds less, and there is still some relegation pressure. Former Liverpool right-back Klein started against his old club, and Will Hughes, Eze and other key players all started.
In the 7th minute of the game, Liverpool counterattacked, Jones slanted, and Nunez's shot from a small angle on the left side of the penalty area was saved. In the 14th minute, Crystal Palace made a direct pass from the left, Mitchell inserted a cross to the middle, and Eze easily pushed the goal in front of the goal, 0-1!
In the 18th minute, Crystal Palace counterattacked with a direct pass, Van Dijk slipped in the process of returning to the defense, Mateta shot past Alisson with a single shot, but was saved by Robertson on the goal line, and the Reds almost conceded another goal!
In the 27th minute, Liverpool's corner kick from the left side was driven into the penalty area to create chaos, but Endo's subsequent shot hit the crossbar and bounced! In the 29th minute, Robertson crossed, and Dias shot a beautiful flying volley at the back post, but the ball was blocked by the reacting Crystal Palace goalkeeper Henderson. In the 33rd minute, Liverpool won a well-placed free-kick near the penalty line, and McAllister's powerful shot was blocked. In the 44th minute, Eze crossed with the outside of his foot from the left side, and Mateta's header went wide. At half-time, Liverpool were 1-0 behind Crystal Palace.
At the beginning of the second half, Szobosloy came on to replace Endo. In the 48th minute, Bradley went off injured and Alexander-Arnold came on as a substitute. In the 53rd minute, Liverpool's corner from the left was driven into the penalty area, and Nunez's shot was blocked.
In the 67th minute, Gakpo and Jota came on to replace Nunez and Dias. In the 73rd minute, Jota's shot from a great position in the box was blocked by a Crystal Palace defender and Liverpool missed the chance to equalise. A free-kick from Crystal Palace then headed into the box and Mateta's shot was blocked. In the 75th minute, Liverpool counter-attacked, Jones had a great chance to go alone, but his shot was bizarrely wide, and Liverpool missed another good chance.
In the following time, Crystal Palace recovered the whole team, and Liverpool failed to break through the opponent's door despite their attacks, and lost this crucial game on the way to the title with a score of 0-1, and was already two points behind Manchester City in the standings. If Arsenal can win at home to Villa later in the game, a defeat in this game will cast a shadow over Liverpool's title race. Jurgen Klopp's desire to leave the Reds as league title manager may be in vain.