Crystal Palace has once again proved that there is what it takes to beat Liverpool.
Ismaila Sar defeated the deadlock in the 9th minute, and Liverpool leveled through alternative Federico Chiesa three minutes before the 90 rose, but the point remained in south London as Eddie Nketzia stepped on the bench for the palace in seven minutes of stoppage time.
team
Backup goalkeepers Walter Benitez, defender Chadie Riad and midfielders Chick Doucole and Caleb Kulha were not available to select Palace boss Oliver Glasner.
With Dean Henderson in goal, Mark Guech, who was linked to Liverpool to Liverpool, captained the side from the backline position next to Maxens Lacroix and Chris Richards. Adam Wharton and Kamada played in the middle of the park, with Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell covering the sides. Along with scorer Sarr, Yeremy Pino supported striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in advance.
Meanwhile, Aruneslot from the away dugout was unsigned with summers from Hugo Ekitique and Giovan Nileoni, a teenage defender who missed the season through a Southampton and ACL injury and forwards who scored two yellow cards in the Carabao Cup victory. Midfielder Stephen Valletic was also injured.
Allison Becker stood between the posts. The centre-back duo of Virgil van Dik and Ibrahima Conate were caught between Milos Kerkez on the left and Connor Bradley on the right. Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Alistair and Dominique Zoboschlei formed the midfield, with Alexander Isaac leading the line in the offense, with Florian Wiltz starting from the left and Mohamed Sarah on the right.
Important moments
From the early stages, the palace took the game to Liverpool. In the 9th minute, Searl finished from close range after Liverpool was unable to properly deal with the corner, putting the host first and bringing Selhurst Park to life.
The palace seized momentum and looked dangerous throughout the set pieces and transition. They could have expanded their lead many times. Mateta hit the post. We had a close chance from Sarr and Pino. Meanwhile, Liverpool slowed defensively and struggled to insist on normal control in the middle.
Once the first half arrived, Liverpool’s offensive threats, Isaac, Sarah and Gakupo, were limited by the disciplined defensive blocks and determined goalkeeping at the palace. Allison made several important saves to prevent the deficit from becoming more serious for visitors. On the other end, the palace backlines, especially Guech and Richards, were effective in denying spaces in dangerous areas.
In the second half, Liverpool brought Federico Chiesa with him. Around 87 minutes, a defensive lapse from the palace caused a great deal of Chiesa to slam the equalizer on the visitors’ relief. It looked like Liverpool might take the point.
However, the palace was stuck with the suspension time. From a long throw deep into the Liverpool box, Nketia of Guehi came to replace the volley house to make it 2-1 in the dying seconds.
The stadium erupted. Var reviewed the goal, but it stood there. The palace secured a dramatic and worthy victory. Their undefeated run ended with Liverpool’s perfect start. The final minutes were tense, but the palace’s defensive resolve and their belief in transition paid off.
The night of Conate that forgets as Real Madrid’s link persists
The outfielder in a Liverpool shirt wasn’t glorious, especially at Selhurst Park in the first half, but that would certainly be a match that Ibrahima Connate wouldn’t want to look back on.
The French centre-back made a mistake after making a mistake. Moreover, he was already booked for 26 minutes and keeping him on the pitch after the slot break was a major leap in faith.
Perhaps Joe Gomez played a bad game in his Carabao Cup victory over Southampton, but Leoni was clearly unavailable – forcing Liverpool’s head coach’s hand.
The reason behind this poor performance at the 26-year-old is precisely the reason, and we will never know for sure, but the constant link with Real Madrid may have played their part. His contract at Anfield expired at the end of the season, and the Spanish giants reportedly want him to sign as a free agent.
If that’s certainly a factor, Liverpool hopes to convince him to sign a new contract as soon as possible, or prepare for his withdrawal by getting another high quality defender in January if possible.
Allison’s class
There were no outfield players, but Allison was incredible among Liverpool’s posts, blushing with some outstanding saves to his teammates. It’s great to see how he comes out to shorten the angles, spread himself like a wall, and make the point blank saves look easy.
The Brazilians denied the palace attacker five times in a total, but it is pretty certain that his team had fallen on one or more goals at halftime.
On the other hand, when the best player on one pitch on a team is the goalkeeper, there are clearly a lot of things elsewhere.
Crystal Palace is Liverpool’s Cryptonite
This was the third time Liverpool faced Crystal Palace in 2025, and they never managed to win.
Glasner’s team denied Liverpool’s victory on the final day of last season in the Premier League, but the 1-1 draw in that match did little to hold back the spirit of the already-crowned champions. The two teams then met at Community Shield. Palace defeated Manchester City to lift the FA Cup, and a penalty shootout settled the contest in their favour. This time, Palace completely beat Liverpool, finishing a 100% record in the league, breaking into second place at the league table and staring at Liverpool’s back, with three points drifting away.
It appears Glasner has found the perfect formula to counter the enormous quality of realistic champions.
But that would change if either Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal wins upcoming matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle this weekend.
All I can do is imagine Liverpool and its fans thinking about drawing the Carabao Cup for the next round.
Next
However, for the time being, Slots will not have time to worry about facing the palace again. On Tuesday, his team traveled to Istanbul where he tried to build a Champions League victory for Atletico Madrid, and on Saturday a clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge awaits.
Meanwhile, Palace has launched a European Conference League campaign with Dynamo Kiev in the Europa Conference League in Lublin, Poland, just defeated one team from Merseyside and will try to do it again to Everton at the end of next week.