Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has five players to blame as Crystal Palace defeat dents title hopes

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has five players to blame as Crystal Palace defeat dents title hopes

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Liverpool slump to Crystal Palace defeat

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 14/04/2024

- 15:58

The Reds have now dropped five points from their last two league matches

Liverpool saw their hopes of winning the Premier League title dealt a blow following a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds had gone into the fixture looking to bounce back after their dire 3-0 Europa League loss to Atalanta on Thursday night.


Yet Liverpool were poor once again, with Eberechi Eze netting the only goal of the game in the 14th minute.

GB News now takes a look at five players who let Jurgen Klopp down, with Arsenal and Manchester City benefitting from the shock result.

Wataru Endo

Wataru Endo Liverpool Crystal Palace

Liverpool saw Wataru Endo struggle during the first half of their Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace

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Wataru Endo has been nothing short of brilliant since joining Liverpool from Stuttgart back in the summer.

Yet this was a day for the Japan international to forget.

Endo failed to track the run of Eze for his goal, with the Palace star converting after some good work from Tyrick Mitchell.

With the Liverpool star failing to stamp his authority on the clash, it was no surprise to see the midfielder hooked at half time.

He'll need to be better than this if the Merseyside giants are to win their second Premier League title under Klopp, who is leaving the club at the end of the season.

Ibrahima Konate

Another player who didn't do enough to prevent Eze from scoring was defender Ibrahima Konate.

The centre-back was lucky to keep his place in Klopp's starting XI after his disasterclass against Atalanta earlier in the week.

And Konate was poor again. The Liverpool star should have been more aware of Eze's surging run into the box and his effort to stop the ball from going in was tame.

He was also guilty of poor decision-making and sloppy passes during the contest, while playing it safe far too often.

An upgrade is needed come the end of the season. Virgil van Dijk, for all his brilliance, can't do it all by himself.

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool Mohamed Salah

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah was off the pace during his side's Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace

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Mohamed Salah is a Liverpool legend and a Premier League great.

Yet the Egypt international didn't appear up for the challenge today and produced an anonymous performance out on the flanks.

Salah did test Dean Henderson in the first half, with the former Manchester United goalkeeper making a comfortable save.

But he offered precious little, for the most part, and was lucky to remain on the field for the whole 90 minutes given how subdued he was.

Salah has been off the pace ever since his return from injury and he doesn't appear to be playing with his usual confidence, with Liverpool suffering as a result.

Darwin Nunez

Darwin Nunez is a trier.

But sometimes you need to be more than that and his lack of ruthlessness up top is infuriating to watch for Liverpool fans.

Nunez gets into good positions and good areas but should have done better with at least two of his attempts on goal.

He is likely to get better in the coming years but how the Reds wish he was already the finished article.

If he was, then the match with Palace could have turned out extremely differently.

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Curtis Jones

Liverpool Jurgen Klopp Crystal Palace

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be disappointed by his side's Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday

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Curtis Jones was guilty of a shocking miss towards the end of the match.

And that compounded a poor day at the office for the midfielder, who struggled to dictate play in the middle of the park.

Liverpool won't have too long to dwell on this defeat, with the Reds set to face Atalanta on Thursday night.

With the Reds already 3-0 down, it'll be interesting to see what team Klopp goes with.

As for Palace, the Eagles are next in action against West Ham next Sunday (3pm).

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