Arne Slot offered a congratulatory handshake to Oliver Glasner and was magnanimous amid the frenzy but it was clear inside he was fizzing.
Liverpool’s perfect start to the season had been wrecked at Selhurst Park but regular viewers of this team suspected a setback of this nature has been on the cards. They may remain favourites to win the title but there are certainly issues for the head coach to address.
NO INTENSE IN DEFENCE
The anticipation when Slot marched into Crystal Palace’s media theatre was that he might unloaded on Chris Kavanagh and the rest of the match officials for allowing the game to run beyond the six minutes of added time – the home team scored in the 97th minute.
Not so. Slot was enraged by the cheap and naïve way Liverpool allowed Palace to get their second goal. From Milos Kerkez not clearing his lines properly and surrendering a throw in to Jeremie Frimpong wanting to attack when the ball wasn’t clear, it was 60 seconds of costly nonsense.
‘We can only blame ourselves by defending the way we did,’ he said. ‘One of our players decided to run out because he wanted to play counter-attack which was of no use. Time was up. It was only about defending Maybe we were too offensively minded – or one player was too offensively minded.’
Liverpool’s perfect start to the season came to a halt after their defeat at Crystal Palace
It’s not like Slot to apportion blame in such a way but perhaps he has seen enough. Kerkez and Frimpong have had teething troubles since arriving from Bournemouth and Bayer Leverkusen respectively. The onus is on them to grasp the nettle quickly.
A quick reminder: After eight games, they have conceded 12 times and only kept two clean sheets. After eight games 12 months ago, Liverpool had only shipped four goals and had four clean sheets. Slot will only settle when the numbers start to change.
NOT GOING WITH THE FLO
Florian Wirtz has exceptional talent. You only have to watch how busy he is with his runs, the way he wants to press and how it seems, at times, that he has Velcro on his boots. He makes plucking a ball from the sky as easy as pulling an apple from the tree.
It would be disingenuous, though, to suggest his start to life in this team has been anything other than underwhelming. He was substituted midway through the second period, having fluffed a brilliant chance to equalise, and looked despondent.
To be clear: Nobody is writing Wirtz off. He’s young, he adjusting to a new culture, he’s arrived for a colossal price tag at a difficult time. But, equally, there is going to have to come a point soon when he produces a big moment. Everyone is watching – and waiting.
Florian Wirtz will need to produce a big moment soon after a stuttering start to life at Anfield
MIDDLE MUDDLE
Alexis Mac Allister was substituted again. He’s played 10 games since the start of the season and the only time he has played 90 minutes was for Argentina against Ecuador. Slot, when asked about it on Friday, was evidently irked by how his country deployed him.
‘Where we try to manage his minutes to get him fit for the long term – not for the moment,’ said Slot. ‘That is maybe the difference between being a manager of a club to being a manager of a national team. We have a saying in Holland: “he’s behind the music” – he’s playing catch up.’
Mac Allister was critical to Liverpool’s title triumph, arguably the best midfielder in the division. He doesn’t look that at the moment, however, and it is another facet that Slot must iron out if he is to get Liverpool truly purring.
Alexis Mac Allister looks a shadow of the player who dominated the midfield last season
LOOK WHAT YOU COULD HAVE WON
There were some suggestions afterwards that Marc Guehi may reappear on Liverpool’s radar in January, given the injury that has destroyed Giovanni Leoni’s first season on Merseyside. They are short in central defence and it could be costly.
Liverpool got much credit for their dealings in the summer but the failure to get a deal done with Palace for Guehi could become enormous. The England international was immaculate throughout, even assisting Eddie Nketiah with a flick on to create his chance. He is a fabulous defender.
‘He shows it every game, every training session,’ said Glasner. ‘How fantastic he is and as a person, which is even more important than what he is as a player. He is just so focused on his and our game, there were no thoughts about anything else. It just shows how fantastic and great Marc is.’
Palace had every right to stand their ground and demand the maximum fee for Guehi as they wanted. Liverpool, though, had the money in the bank to do the deal. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but, really, they should have got it done.
Marc Guehi proved just what Liverpool are missing with a commanding display at the back
SALAH THE SLOWBURNER
We are in September and, as such, it would be ridiculous to make a sweeping statement about Mohamed Salah. He is one of the finest players to represent the club, a man capable of producing magic out of nothing. If you think he won’t in the coming months, you haven’t been watching.
That said, if you have been watching Liverpool through the opening weeks, you will know that he’s not operating at his maximum. He was out of sorts at Selhurst Park, he’s not getting the same kind of service that he has done for the last eight years and he is transitioning with the team.
When you have set such high standards and been so spectacular with your consistency, it becomes noticeable when something is not quite clicking. That’s how it is for Salah and that’s how it is, too, for Liverpool as a team. This defeat isn’t fatal – but Slot will know it cannot be repeated.
