Crystal Palace – Liverpool: Palace Pierce Reds’ Rosy Ambitions (2-2, 3-2 After Penalties)
Football is a funny sport. Last year, Liverpool leapt ahead of the chasing pack to win a title that few people expected. But if there was any second guessing the strength of the Premier League, this fixture showed that Arne Slot shall not have it all his way at the second attempt.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
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Oliver Glasner and Arne Slot do not give off glitz and glamour. But they quietly managed contexts of change to command their camps to calmer waters and the right to fight for the Community Shield.
Losing one of the world’s best attackers is not easy to accept. But that is always on the cards if you are in the middle of the Premier League pack, as Crystal Palace let go of Michael Olise. It took time for the Eagles to adapt, but they earned the seventh most points of any Premier League outfit in the final six months of the season. A historic FA Cup run with clean sheets against Aston Villa and Manchester City capped off the campaign for the pride of South London. They now have their first major honour.
Liverpool have learned to cope with loss as an institution, but the Reds remained nervy about parting ways with Jürgen Klopp after the best part of nine years. They need not have worried. Slot seamlessly stepped into the dugout, amending a few aspects of the old blueprint to guide the group into a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League table, turbo charged by Mo Salah. One of few regrets was a 2-1 defeat in the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle United at Wembley: could they atone for that display?
This summer, Slot has seen a lot of change in the squad. Luis Díaz departed for Bayern Munich, Darwin Núñez is about to join Al-Nassr, and the club has been grieving the death of Diogo Jota. In their place, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké have arrived as top attackers from the Bundesliga, and both were in the lineup. Meanwhile, their two new fullbacks, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, filled the sides of the back four. Ryan Gravenberch was out of action due to the birth of his baby.
On the other hand, Palace have been “passive” in the window in the eyes of Glasner. He has taken solace in the continuity of the camp. Adam Wharton and Marc Guehi were back from head injuries that ruled them out of the last meeting between the two teams. Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta are still in the ranks as part of a front three with Ismaïla Sarr. In front of Dean Henderson, Tyrick Mitchell, Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, and Daniel Muñoz made up the rest of their rearguard.
Liverpool limber up with new talent
Liverpool’s last experience of Wembley was a distinct but brutal one. Eddie Howe has built a unit that like to be direct and battle at every opportunity. Slot has seen of those traits in Palace, but he expected to engage with a disciplined, deep defensive block from Glasner, and that was what he got on the day.
He has the talent at his fingertips to do some damage, and in three minutes, two of the summer signings synced up to slice apart the setup. Ekitiké angled a run to the left, doubled back on himself, and cut a second, sharp touch back to Wirtz. He ran around Lacroix and Muñoz while Richards had dropped to line up with the six yard box. Not for the first time, he crept into space in the area on the edge of the penalty area, and after getting the ball back from Wirtz, he drilled a shot into the net.
There are already signals of what the new attackers can bring to the table. For his height, Ekitiké is an extremely agile forward with the speed and delicate touch to carry down the channels like a winger and advance open attacks. His passes and flicks could connect with Wirtz in open play to claim control of loose balls, and the two teammates already appear to be building a good connection.
41st minute: offensive sequence from Liverpool. Kerkez gave the ball to Szoboszlai and then circled inside the midfielder. Wirtz recognized he could get free on the outside of Sarr and as Muñoz jumped, the attack accelerates. Wirtz fed a first time pass inside and Ekitiké gets on his toes to find Kerkez as a third man. But he could not connect with Gakpo, and the ball ran beyond the winger off the field.
By the 20th minute, one of the two flying fullbacks had put their name on the scoresheet. Frimpong, who was often in isolation with Salah on the right, flew forward on the outside. He knocked the ball beyond Mitchell, and his delivery drifted over the head of Henderson to nestle in the side netting.
Eagles excel in transition
Between those two strikes, there was an equalizer for Palace. After around a quarter of an hour, the ball dropped for Wharton, who passed to Sarr, and a layoff set for Kamada carved the path to release Mateta. The striker stepped on the gas, but Alisson smothered an attempt at a shot. Mitchell managed to turn the free ball away from Frimpong, and as Sarr stretched his legs, van Dijk clipped him in the danger zone. The referee pointed for a penalty, and Mateta struck the spot from twelve yards.
Palace were willing to work the ball laterally with switches to release Muñoz. His deliveries raised a few questions about the indecision of Liverpool’s box defending as red and blue shirts filtered forward to threaten at the far post. They did not need a lot of the ball to present problems to their opponents.
Apart from his goal, Mateta was a constant thorn in the side of Liverpool. They dedicated both central defenders to dealing with his threat, but his physique and hold-up play provoked Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk much more than they would have liked. Half time arrived with the game in balance.
45 + 7th minute: offensive transition from Crystal Palace. Ekitiké and Wirtz wanted to link up together, but the Palace bodies smothered their attack. Sarr set the ball to Mateta, and the referee got in the way, messing up the timing of his turn. However, he hopped on his left foot to take control of the ball with his right, then stepped again to block the ball with his body, holding off van Dijk. Eze has enough time to get forward on his left and Palace were able to hold onto the ball to see out the first half.
Palace push for the silverware
The second half started similarly to the first, with Ekitiké at the center of the action. The striker stooped over Mitchell and nodded a header wide, before blazing the ball over the bar from a cutback moments later. Yet, Palace reacted again and would finish the final half hour as the stronger outfit.
Crystal Palace were already putting Liverpool to work on the transition, and the threat increased, as sloppiness from Szoboszlai set the tone for the struggles in the second half. Slot would pull off Ekitiké, then throw on Wataru Endo at the base of the midfield and introduce Alexis Mac Allister.
But Palace persevered. Gakpo buckled under pressure from Will Hughes, and Wharton would pick up the pieces. Szoboszlai stepped out of the line between the goal and the ball, Mac Allister was also out of that path, and the midfielder left Sarr to ping the ball off the post into the net. Penalties beckoned.
Henderson had denied Omar Marmoush to help Palace win the FA Cup final, and he was back at his antics. The goalkeeper parried efforts from Harvey Elliott and Mac Allister after Salah skied his shot. Borna Sosa slipped up when he had the chance to convert a winner, but when Szoboszlai replied, 21-year-old Justin Devenny did not crack under the stress. He buried the fifth and final strike for Palace.
Oliver Glasner appreciation post 🤩👏 pic.twitter.com/8OSanINLMt
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 10, 2025
Takeaways
Crystal Palace have done it again. This marked their third triumph in as many months at Wembley and their second title in that period. The club might be reeling from the loss of their CAS appeal this week, but they have again brightened up South London and left a giant with food for thought. If Glasner can keep hold of all his big hitters, then expect them to fly further: this is a hardworking, young group with talent that know their roles and have a manager with the match plans to frustrate.
Many were willing to crown Liverpool before the fight had even begun: they will have to labor to hold onto the Premier League title for the first time in their history. Without starts for two of their main midfielders and a new-look back four, it is not wise to think that Slot will not iron out some wrinkles. But if the defensive resilience of the Reds was the platform to pull through with moments of magic from Salah, then for now, they might have to run back the clock and outscore opponents to win.
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