- Player ratings as Palace fall to defeat at Anfield
- First loss awat to Liverpool in four games
- Munoz the villain
Liverpool avoided a fourth defeat of the season to Crystal Palace as the Reds continued their push for Champions League football next season. It was a continuation of the trend Palace’s season has followed, with numerous missed chances and wasted opportunities. Liverpool were ruthless though, and well worth their win.
In the previous three matchups between the sides, Palace reigned superior, so a Liverpool win was overdue. Oliver Glasner named a strong starting eleven, as Adam Wharton returned to the starting eleven after the knock he picked up in Florence.
The hosts found themselves 2-0 up, showing clinical finishing as Palace were wasteful in front of a goal kept by Palace fan Freddie Woodman. A controversial Daniel Munoz goal made it interesting at 2-1, but Florian Wirtz sealed the win for the Reds late on.
Here are my player ratings from the game.
Dean Henderson – 5
Zero saves, and he probably could have done better at moments, it was a difficult game for Henderson. His booking in the 32nd minute for ‘time wasting’ was utterly ludicrous, he had halted for maybe ten seconds, but Andy Madley was keen to mark himself on the game. Whilst we’re here, the referee can have a 3/10.
Daniel Munoz – 7
Played the role of the pantomime villain to perfection. Would many other players in our squad shoot from where he was, I doubt it. Many would have turned to play the ball off the pitch. Alas, there was no foul, no serious injury and so the Colombian was well within his rights to score, and he took it well.
He also won 100% of his tackles, won four of his six ground duels and did so whilst being booed by the entire Anfield crowd, and most certainly pubs across London and Ireland.
Chris Richards – 4
Possibly his worst performance of the season so far. He won a measly two of his eleven aerial duels, struggling hugely especially against Cody Gakpo. His clearance in the build-up to the first goal was poor, and made it easy for Mac Allister to ease the ball towards Isak.
His passing was off the pace and he also missed a huge chance to score when he headed over from six yards out.
Maxence Lacroix – 6
Similarly to his American counterpart, Lacroix struggled at moments against Liverpool’s forward line, but his defensive work was slightly more convincing. He also missed two huge chances, one of which was very well saved by Woodman.
In possession he was comfortable, but wasn’t able to influence the game in the way Palace fans, or Lacroix may have hoped.
Jaydee Canvot – 7 – MOTM
Another strong display from the 19-year-old, who did well to nullify Mohamed Salah’s threat for large portions of the game. He was outmuscled by the Egyptian in the build-up to the first goal, but was unfortunate not to get a clear toe on the ball beforehand.
Eleven defensive contributions, 100% tackle success, one last man tackle and a generally solid performance makes Canvot my Man of the Match today. His consistency and development has been fantastic to see.
Tyrick Mitchell – 6
This rating would undoubtedly be higher had he not been replaced at halftime, but it was a strong first half despite that. He wasn’t dribbled past a single time, as he continued to impress against Mo Salah, an opponent he often does well against.
He was also Palace’s main attacking outlet in the first half, creating one big chance and generally providing a consistent outlet for his teammates. His development in terms of his attacking play has been superb this season.
He came off with an achilles injury, but should be okay to play in Krakow on Thursday.
Adam Wharton – 7
It felt like another performance where Wharton was desperate to impose himself and impact the result. His ambitious eye for passes does impact his completion in the final third, but what impressed me today was his anticipation and dribbling ability. He broke through challenges with the ball on multiple occasions and completed three dribbles.
It was a standard Wharton defensive display, but he was only dribbled past once and looked more solid at times than in previous games.
Daichi Kamada – 7
I’d describe Kamada’s performance today as energetic. He won seven of his eight duels, won three tackles and recovered possession seven times. He carried the ball a total of 115 metres and it felt like he was consistently impacting the game whenever he got the ball.
He has begun to compliment Wharton perfectly, and they have developed a really strong partnership together. That style of high energy is also needed in a Premier League midfield, and so if Kamada is to leave South London this season then a replacement is a must.
Brennan Johnson – 5
Better. But only slightly. The workrate he showed to make the recovery tackle on Mohammed Salah, which was awarded as a penalty before being overturned correctly, was superb.
Once again though, it felt as if there was a lack of conviction with his final actions, but certainly an improvement from recent weeks.
Isamila Sarr – 6
Struggled to repeat his form against Liverpool this season, and didn’t get a hold of the game as much as he tends to. He missed a big chance to score but again forced a strong save from Woodman.
He wasn’t offered too many chances though, and had few passes played into him as we normally see.
Jean-Phillipe Mateta – 6
Missed the glorious chance from close range which Liverpool then counter attacked from to score the second goal. JP struggled against a central defensive pairing which can be tricky, only winning one aerial duel.
His hold up play was okay at times but there weren’t many options for him when he had the ball at his feet. Once again though, two big chances missed, so a similar story for Mateta this season.
Borna Sosa (Halftime Sub) – 5
Not Sosa’s worst outing for Palace but by no means his best. He did relatively well to contain the threat on Liverpool’s right-hand side but this was in part due to Salah’s withdrawal and also Canvot’s support behind him.
He was slightly wasteful when he had chances in the final third, but wasn’t helped by poor passing from his teammates, including a moment when Johnson fired a 10 yard pass into his chin.
Yeremy Pino (59th min sub) – 6
Struggled to impact the game in any real manner but did look positive when he got on the ball. He created one big chance and did well to get Palace up the pitch, but with limited impact on the Liverpool backline.
As he has done since his arrival at Selhurst Park, Pino worked hard defensively, and this will serve as a refresher for him heading into the game on Thursday night, which he should start.
Jorgen Strand Larsen (70th min sub) – 5
Missed a great chance one on one but was likely offside anyway. He only touched the ball three times in 25 minutes, so not much to judge him from.
Palace’s next game is a Europa Conference League semi-final in Krakow against Shakhtar Donetsk.
