Liverpool‘s perfect start to the Premier League season came to a dramatic end at Selhurst Park on Saturday, as Eddie Nketiah’s 95th-minute strike secured a deserved 2-1 victory for a spirited Crystal Palace side. The champions’ luck with late goals finally ran out as they were punished for a disjointed defensive performance.
Federico Chiesa thought he had salvaged another dramatic late point for the Reds, scoring in the 87th minute to cancel out Ismaïla Sarr’s early opener, but former Arsenal striker Nketiah had the final say.
Palace dominates chaotic first half
For the first time in eight games this season, Liverpool found themselves trailing when Sarr slammed home from a corner after just nine minutes. What followed was a first-half onslaught from the hosts. Goalkeeper Alisson produced a series of stunning saves to deny Yéremy Pino, Daniel Muñoz, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, while the latter also saw a spectacular long-range effort rebound off the inside of the post. The Reds were extremely fortunate to go into the halftime break only one goal down.
A dramatic and heartbreaking finish
Arne Slot’s side showed signs of improvement after the restart, but Florian Wirtz missed a guilt-edged chance to equalise from just six yards out. It appeared that substitute Federico Chiesa had spared his side’s blushes with three minutes of normal time remaining, popping up at the far post to level the scores.
However, Liverpool were finally on the receiving end of late heartbreak. Deep into stoppage time, Eddie Nketiah found space in the box and coolly fired beyond Alisson to end the Reds’ winning run. This defeat had been coming for Liverpool, as their perfect record had masked a series of unconvincing performances.
Liverpool player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Ratings provided by FotMob
- GK: Alisson – 7.6
- RB: Conor Bradley – 6.8
- CB: Ibrahima Konaté – 7.4
- CB: Virgil van Dijk – 6.9
- LB: Milos Kerkez – 6.5
- DM: Ryan Gravenberch – 7.2
- DM: Alexis Mac Allister – 6.8
- RW: Mohamed Salah – 6.1
- AM: Dominik Szoboszlai – 7.6
- LW: Florian Wirtz – 6.7
- ST: Alexander Isak – 6.0