Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace: Ismaila Sarr scored twice at the end of the first half to ensure last season’s defeated Carabao Cup finalists make an early exit from this year’s competition.
Liverpool suffered another defeat under manager Arne Slott as the Reds’ young line-up crashed out of the Carabao Cup. Three teenagers started in a much-changed Reds side, but they failed to respond to Ismaila Sarr’s brace in the first half against Crystal Palace.
Slott’s side went into the game having lost their last four Premier League games, but their starting XI was unrecognizable from what they had seen in recent weeks. Milos Kerkes was the only player to retain his starting place after Saturday’s defeat to Brentford, with three teenagers starting for the home side at Anfield.
After a quiet opening 15 minutes, it was one of the teenagers who reminded Palace that the rotated Reds still offered plenty of threat. He fired a dangerous shot at Eagles right-back Daniel Muñoz into the far corner, but the ball wasn’t hit hard enough to trouble goalkeeper Walter Benitez.
Federico Chiesa was next to have a firm grip on goal, reacting sharply to an unexpected ball through the middle, but his fierce shot went over Benitez’s crossbar. Another shot was well saved by the Argentine keeper, but in the end it was Palace who broke the deadlock. Ismaila Sarr took advantage of a defensive weakness and smashed the ball into the bottom corner of Freddie Woodman’s goal.
One point turned into two before the break, with Sarr scoring again. Liverpool’s bench was packed with young, inexperienced players and there were few game-changing options in the slot as they wanted to keep their senior stars fresh for the next Test run.
read more: Who is Kieran Morrison? Liverpool wonderkid handed debut by Arne Slott in Carabao Cup matchread more: Arne Slott warns Liverpool have made two ‘strange’ mistakes: ‘I shouldn’t have said that’
Slott returned to the bench in hopes of making a further debut, but there was no turning back as Palace watched the game unfold and ended the game with a one-man lead following Amara Naro’s red card. Palace made the most of their extra players, with Elemy Pino scoring a superb third goal late on. Here’s the mirror football buzz from Anfield:
1. Mr. Searle strikes again.
Three goals in four games against Liverpool and Palace was already fine, but by half-time at Anfield Ismaila Sarr’s tally had increased to five goals in five games. The Senegalese forward helped stop the Reds’ unbeaten run in 2019/20 during his time at Watford, scoring twice in the Hornets’ 3-0 win, and continues to feature against the Reds at his current club.
After his results in the league and the Community Shield, the former Marseille player has now secured the scoring record in the competition for the third time in just three months. His first time was by pure instinct, he swung first and found the corner. The second was a confident player’s finish after some neat link-up play.
Many in the home camp would have breathed a sigh of relief when the scorer gave way shortly after the end of the game. Some teams have nightmares about Mohamed Salah, but Liverpool have nightmares about Ismaila Sarr.
2. The Reds set an unexpected record.
You have to go back to 1953 to find the last time Liverpool lost five consecutive domestic competitions. As with the big win in Frankfurt a week ago, a much changed team requires caution, but the fact remains that their recent form is a cause for concern.
Some may be attempting revisionism, but Arne Slott shouldn’t lose any of the credit for winning last season’s title. The bigger concern comes from the fact that he didn’t have to deal with this kind of slump in form last season, and questions remain as to whether he has the savvy to do so.
Slot’s team’s next game will be against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday. What will they give to repeat last season’s 2-0 win?
3. Various opinions from children
Liverpool’s youthful bench was complemented by a youthful starting XI. There were also some senior players on the pitch, with Kieran Morrison making his debut on the right-wing, while fellow teenagers Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngmoha also started.
Ngmoha certainly looked the sharpest of the three, causing problems for Palace’s defense and looking every bit ready for top-level football. All three players calmed down a bit after Palace opened up a two-goal lead, but the more experienced players weren’t all that great.
The hosts became even younger with Amara Naro, Kaide Gordon and Werity Lackey brought on from the bench 25 minutes before time, with Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister leaving the pitch along with Morrison.
4. Woodman acquitted of surprise debut
Morrison wasn’t the only debutant, Freddie Woodman also made his first start. The goalkeeper didn’t have much to do in the first half, but impressed in the moment of his distribution after making a comfortable stop to deny Will Hughes.
Woodman, 28, was a curiosity for the Reds over the summer. He has made more than 100 appearances in the Championship for Preston over the past three seasons, but fans mainly saw him as a natural back-up next to Alisson and Giorgi Mamadashvili – even though he is a younger model than some of the keepers who have taken up the role elsewhere.
There wasn’t much the keeper could do about either goal and you should have felt that the more experienced Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo probably could have done better. However, it remains to be seen whether we will see Woodman in action for Liverpool again this season.
5. Bright sparks fly
Although Federico Chiesa’s goal in last season’s Carabao Cup final was not enough to save the match, the Italian proved that this was a competition he enjoyed. He scored two goals for the Reds in the match-day 3 match against Southampton, and was also in the lead against Palace with support from Slott.
It may have seemed an odd choice given the strength and composure of Palace’s centre-backs. However, Chiesa showed his strength in the first half and ended up getting chances.
However, the former Juventus man was much quieter in the second half, which may not be such a big surprise. The equalizing goal in the third round was only the third time he had achieved a perfect 90 in English football, and he was not the only Liverpool player to suffer badly after the break.
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