Crystal Palace – Liverpool: Routine Win For Slot’s Reds (0-1)

Liverpool secured an early lead and proceeded to dominate the first half with their cohesive possession play against a passive Crystal Palace side. The second half saw Palace attempt a resurgence as they pressed in Liverpool’s half, but ultimately the home side could not find an equalizer. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

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Crystal Palace ended last season as one of the Premier League’s in-form teams, but have been unable to recapture that form in the early stages of this season, not having won a league game so far. Liverpool, meanwhile, have enjoyed a good start under Arne Slot, with their midweek win over Bologna making it nine wins out of ten in all competitions for the Reds.

Oliver Glasner’s side lined up in a 3-4-3 shape here, with a back three of Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi, and Trevoh Chalobah. Daniel Muñoz and Tyrick Mitchell were the wing-backs, while Adam Wharton and Jefferson Lerma partnered in central midfield. Ismaïla Sarr and Eberechi Eze supported Eddie Nketiah up front.

Liverpool meanwhile played in a 4-3-3 formation,  with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, and Kostas Tsimikas in the back four. Curtis Jones joined Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister in the midfield trio, while Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, and Cody Gakpo completed the frontline.

Liverpool face little resistance

The first half of this game was especially dominant for Liverpool. Palace did not manage a shot at goal until just before half-time, aside from an early goal that was ruled out for offside. Apart from that incident, Liverpool were able to make themselves extremely comfortable with the ball, and created good chances throughout the game.

Palace were defending in a 5-4-1 shape, and were often pushed back into their own half, where they struggled to find their usual counter-attacking strength to create danger when they won the ball back, as Liverpool tended to be quite solid with their defensive transitions.

Liverpool have used a double-pivot in some of their previous games this season, but in this match Gravenberch mostly operated as the sole number six. Mac Allister tended to push up higher in the left halfspace and often played behind Palace’s midfield line.

Liverpool had dominant possession in the first half, with good occupation of the spaces between the lines.

Jones would usually occupy the number ten space, while Jota was also a presence between the lines, often in the right halfspace. These three players gave Liverpool a strong presence between the lines, and allowed Liverpool to continue to demonstrate their strong use of third man combinations under Slot.

Wherever possible, Liverpool sought these players between the lines with vertical passes, and ensured that they were supported by a third man run which allowed them to continue the momentum of the attack and seek passes in behind the defense.

These runs into depth were primarily supplied by Gakpo and Salah. Gakpo tended to start from a slightly wider position than Salah, as Tsimikas often played in a slightly more reserved fashion on the left. On the right side, Alexander-Arnold was often making forward runs, allowing Salah to indent slightly and make runs into the channels around Chalobah and Mitchell.

Palace threaten resurgence

Jota’s early goal in the first ten minutes had given Liverpool the lead in the game, and would prove to be the decisive goal in the match. The second half saw Liverpool still creating chances, but not enjoying the same level of territorial dominance as the first-half, as Palace looked to assert themselves in the game.

Liverpool made a change at half-time, as Dominik Szoboszlai replaced Mac Allister in midfield. this change also came with a slight adjustment in shape, as they now went to more of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Jones played alongside Gravenberch in central midfield, while Szoboszlai was a number ten. Jones did not advance quite as aggressively as Mac Allister had in this role, which provided balance to allow Tsimikas to venture forward a bit more often when Liverpool attacked.

Glasner also made changes at the hour mark, bringing Jean-Philippe Mateta and Will Hughes on for Mitchell and Wharton. This saw a slight reshuffle, as Sarr moved back to right-wing back and Nathaniel Clyne, who had earlier relaced an injured Muñoz, switched to left wing-back. Mateta was now the center-forward, with Nketiah switching to the right of attack. Hughes slotted into central midfield alongside Lerma.

Liverpool’s ball circulation was quite stable for much of the game, despite Palace’s efforts to increase the pressure in the second half.

Although Slot’s side still dominated the possession, they were now having much more of this possession inside their own half, instead of inside Palace’s territory. Palace were more aggressive in their pressing now, with the front three directly closing down Liverpool’s backline to force backwards passes.

It was still too easy for Liverpool to break out, especially through switches of play, as the ball-far wing-back for Palace was often too passive with their positioning, allowing long diagonals to Liverpool’s ball-far fullback.

Still, Palace’s renewed aggression in pressing still gave them more of a stake in the game compared to the first half, where they had been far too passive. This resulted in a few shots at goal which forced Liverpool to stay alert defensively. In the end though, Liverpool were able to hold onto their one-goal lead, and claim another three points to remain on top of the Premier League table going into the international break.

Takeaways

Palace are still looking for last season’s form, and adapting to life after Michael Olise who was such a big part of their attacking game. They were definitely underwhelming in the first half here, as their passive defending made it far too easy for Liverpool to control the game and progress the ball. The second half was imperfect but an improvement, as Palace finally gained some territory, but were unable to find the goal they needed.

Liverpool put on another good display here, especially in the first half, where they made things look relatively easy with their smooth possession game. The second half was less spectacular but still solid, and they still had their fair share of chances to extend their lead.

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