- Crystal Palace beaten by Liverpool
- Maxence Lacroix felt they deserved better
- Frenchman feels it prepared team for European semi-final
Maxence Lacroix is taking the positives from Crystal Palace’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool and claims that it serves as preparation for their UEFA Conference League semi-final tie. The Eagles were beaten at Anfield on Saturday.
Alexander Isak opened the scoring for the hosts before Andy Robertson made it two just before half-time. Palace hit back through a controversial Daniel Munoz goal, but Florian Wirtz ensured Oliver Glasner’s men left Merseyside empty-handed.
The Eagles put in a good performance but just lacked a killer instinct up top. The visitors even had 13 shots to the hosts’ nine, but the club’s former youth goalkeeper, Freddie Woodman, was superb between the sticks.
Lacroix: We deserved something better
Lacroix gave his thoughts on the defeat and felt that Palace were unfortunate not to come away with something. He told club media:
“I think we deserved something better. We had the best chances, but we weren’t really efficient in front of goal.”
Glasner’s unbeaten record at Anfield ended with the loss on Saturday but his side rued missed opportunities. This was touched on by Lacroix:
“I think we played well. It’s not easy to play like this in Anfield. We could score, I think, two goals. It’s the finish, the last step [we missed]. We have to say congratulations to the goalkeeper. He made some really good saves.”
He added:
“Maybe we need more accuracy in front of the goal, but we are sure that next game we will score the goals.”
Palace turn their attention to Thursday’s encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final. Their French centre-back is clearly ready for the trip to Poland:
“I think this match prepares us well for the Conference League. We showed a great performance. We’re ready for the next match in Europe.”
Palace’s chances of qualifying for Europe via their Premier League finish are now all but over. They sit 13th, six points behind seventh-placed Bournemouth with five games remaining.
‘A Beautiful Achievement’
Lacroix continued to affirm that Palace were now gearing up for their first-ever European semi-final. Glasner’s men travel to Krakow, Poland to face Ukrainian side Shakhtar.
The Frenchman said:
“We’re ready – I think we showed it. The result was a bit tough, but we played good football. We were able to put Liverpool in trouble. That’s what want to do in these matches in the Conference League.“
He added:
“For Palace to play in the semi-finals of the Conference League, it’s a beautiful achievement. But everyone knows that we want more, so we go there to win, of course.“
Shakhtar head into Thursday’s game off the back of a 3-1 win over FC Kudrivka. They sit top of the Ukrainian Premier League and will be tough opposition given their European experience.
