The poor form that Crystal Palace has displayed since Christmas continued as they fell 2-1 to a 10 man Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Alan Pardew’s men took the lead in the second-half through Joe Ledley after he capitalised on the ball rebounding around the box, where it eventually fell for the Palace midfielder to blast into the bottom corner.
It look as if Palace might secure their first win in 12 attempts when James Milner was sent-off for a second yellow card, but it seemed that gave Liverpool extra motivation. Alex McCarthy’s error when looking to clear the ball up field let the visitors back in, as Roberto Firmino pounced on the mistake and scored the equaliser.
It look as if the game would be destined for a draw, that was until the 93rd minute. Christian Benteke made a break into the box and got the best of Damien Delaney, before being clipped on the way through to win a penalty. The decision seemed a little soft, but the Belgian striker made the most of it to secure three points for the Reds.
That makes it two points out of a possible 30 since the start of the year for Palace and their job does not get any easier with a game against Leicester at home next up in the League, while Liverpool face a Europa showdown with Manchester United.
POPULAR ARTICLES
EPL – What We Learned – Newcastle United 1 AFC Bournemouth 3
EPL – Player Ratings – Tottenham Hotspur 2 Arsenal 2
EPL – Player Ratings – Manchester City 4 Aston Villa 0
Crystal Palace
Alex McCarthy – 5: Had a solid game, but did conceded a goal that came about because of a mistake while trying to clear the ball.
Joel Ward – 6: A quiet showing, was good at the back when called upon and provided some decent balls going forward
Damien Delaney – 6: Aside from giving away what was a very soft penalty at the end of the game his performance in defence gave his side something to really build upon.
Scott Dann – 6: Like his defensive partner he was strong when getting across to deny the Liverpool attacking players any space going forward.
Pape Souare – 5: Went about his duty in a first game back from suspension, but when tested made a good clearance.
Mile Jedinak – 7: Was one of Palaces best. Worked hard in defence to make some very crucial interventions on dangerous passes from Liverpool.
Joe Ledley – 7: Put Palace ahead in the second-half and like Jedinak, worked hard in defence to take away Liverpool’s space.
Wilfried Zaha – 5: Seemed to struggle to get the best of Alberto Moreno and even when he did, the final ball left a little to be desired.
Yohan Cabaye – 5: Another relatively quiet game for the Frenchman who has struggled to find any sort of form in 2016.
Yannick Bolasie – 6: Satisfactory in his roaming role across Liverpool’s defence and also prevented some of the opposition shots, the most important being from a Milner free-kick that looked destined for goal.
Emmanuel Adebayor – 6: Probably his best game in a Palace shirt. Had a decent chance early on after winning a header from a Souare cross but it hit the crossbar.
Substitutes
Jordon Mutch – 5: Had little impact after coming on for Cabaye about halfway through the second half.
Bakary Sako – 5: Wasted an opportunity late in the game from a free-kick that he blasted over the bar.
Dwight Gayle – 5: In an effort to try and get the winner was brought on from Ledley, but had no chances to score.
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 7: Made some crucial saves early in the game that kept the scores level in the first-half.
Jon Flanagan – 6: Was good up against Bolasie, again showing that he has the ability to kept up with speedy wingers
Dejan Lovern – 7: Showed some really solid defensive capabilities to get across and assist his teammates in defence when dealing with the dangerous Bolasie.
Mamadou Sakho – 7: Kept Adebayor under wraps, not really giving him any space to run into to provide for his teammates.
Alberto Moreno – 6: Of late it is probably one of his better performances.
Emre Can – 6: Played well in the holding role in midfield, getting across for some key interventions.
Jordan Henderson – 5: Had a relatively quiet game in an attacking sense, but much like Can made a couple of key interceptions.
James Milner – 4: Got himself sent-off trying to make up for cheaply giving the ball away.
Roberto Firmino – 6: Had a difficult start to the game but did capitilise on the mistake from McCarthy to get Liverpool level.
Adam Lallana – 6: Made a couple of decent runs trying to get in the box, was often closed down but did get a decent pass away that was steered wide by Origi.
Divock Origi – 5: Only had one clear chance but steered it wide after being found by a Lallana pass.
Substitutes
Philippe Coutinho – 5: Was relatively quiet after coming off the bench.
Christian Benteke – 6: Managed to have a meaningful impact, winning and then converting what seemed a fairly soft penalty.
Kolo Toure – N/A: Came on to provide an extra man at the back late on to ensure that Liverpool did not concede a late goal.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
