London fits Liverpool these days! A few days after beating Arsenal 2-0 at Emirates (27 February v Chelsea at Wembley Stadium) that sent them through to the League Cup final, Jurgen Klopp’s side prevailed 3-1 at Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and reduced to single digits from the top and even has the opportunity to match the difference with champions Manchester City and -6 if they win against Leeds in their postponed match.

The Reds were in full control in the first half where they scored twice with Van Dyke and Oxlade-Chamberlain (assisted by Robertson) but in the second they found them dark against the struggling Palace who pared to 55′ with Edouard and Even had chances for a draw. However, Allison was stable under her goal and just before the end of the 90th minute the visitors won a penalty with Zotas, with Fambinios taking advantage of the end of the penalty shootout to write the final 3-1 in the match.

The game

Absolutely dominant for much of the first half was Liverpool, with Klopp’s side catching their breath from League Cup final qualifiers (beating Arsenal 2-0 in the capital midweek) and leaving little room for reaction… at the Crystal Palace. It took him just 8 minutes to find the back of the net, with Robertson executing a corner from the left and Van Dyke thrown to the crossbar to execute Guaita with an incredible header.

In the first 25 minutes, the Reds played very good football, with pressure and possession, and had 8 finals (2 at home) against each of the Palace and in the 32nd minute they scored the second goal perfectly. Andy Robertson was again the protagonist with an assist (he reached 43 in the Premier League since the start of the 2017/18 season, same as Alexander-Arnold), with Oxlade-Chamberlain taking the ball at the far post from his crossbar Scot and hitting with one powerful left-footed shot to make it 2-0.

Until the 35th minute, the Reds had no opponent on the pitch, but in the final of the first part, Vieira’s team twice threatened to take advantage of their opponent’s defensive mistakes, with Allison still keeping a clean sheet. The Eagles came into play just as strongly in the second half and had two great chances within two minutes (47’48’) in Gallagher and Edouard to score the goal they were keen on (and they were keen by their reaction justified). 0 -2) at 55′.

Vertical pass in the back of the Liverpool defence, with Matetas to goes out against Allison and at the right moment feeds Edouard, who follows him, for the second to 1:2 in front of a defenseless home. He was even the first Londoner to score against Liverpool after Wilfried Zaha in November 2019.

Essentially, that goal drastically changed the situation as Palace played with more confidence and Liverpool felt completely uneasy having lost their ability to control rhythm and play. Indeed, the hosts achieved a draw in the 83rd minute, with Allison proving to be the guardian angel of his homeland, chasing with overexertion in a corner at Olise’s high hanging.

Minutes later, however, the Liverpool fans’ nervousness vanished when the game was ‘locked’ with a third goal for Klopp’s players. After an excellent pass from Alexander-Arnold, Zota entered the palace area and she fell from a mark she was given, with the referee showing the white ball after a few minutes of consulting the VAR, beating Fambino Guaita to advance to the final with 3- 1 to write .

CRYSTAL PALACE: Guaita, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Gallagher, Hughes (77′ Saint), Sloop, Olise, Edouard (68′ Eze), Mateta (77′ Bendeke)

LIVERPOOL: Allison, Alexander-Arnold (90+2′ Gomez), Matip, Van Dyke, Robertson, Henderson, Fambino, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain (60′ Minamino), Firmino (90′ Milner)

The results of the 23rd game

The highlights

Watford-Norwich 0-3

Everton-Aston Villa 0-1

Manchester United 1-0 West Ham

Brentford – Wolves 1-2

Leeds-Newcastle 0-1

Southampton-Manchester City 1-1

Premier League rankings

the next game