The immediate reaction to the final whistle painted the picture of a truly damaging week for Liverpool. Jürgen Klopp hugged a victorious Crystal Palace manager, Oliver Glasner, before puffing out his cheeks and shaking his head. Andy Robertson sank to his haunches and stared into the middle distance disconsolately. Liverpool fans filed out without a sound. Their team has faltered badly in the title race.
Soundly beaten in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals by Atalanta on Thursday, Liverpool succumbed again on home soil as Eberechi Eze’s early goal gave Palace a deserved victory and huge lift in their bid to pull clear of relegation trouble. They may just have holed Liverpool’s Premier League title prospects in the process. Klopp’s team have lost two successive home games for the first time since the Covid season of 2020-21 and only have themselves to blame after another lacklustre display. An improved second-half display came too late.
