Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace: Eagles dump 10-man Liverpool out of Carabao Cup | OneFootball

Arne Slot gambled a youthful side in a knock-out match in the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace and fell to a 3-0 defeat, marking a sixth loss in seven fixtures.

Ismaïla Sarr scored twice shortly before half-time to give the Eagles a sizeable buffer, before a red card to youngster Amara Nallo stacked up the odds against the Reds even more.

A late strike from Yéremy Pino put the contest to bed, sending Palace to the final eight of the Carabao Cup and condemning Slot’s side to another defeat.

As it happened

Liverpool hosted Crystal Palace at Anfield on Wednesday evening as the teams met for the third time this season. The fourth round Carabao Cup match brought along a lot of pressure for both sides after a series of poor performances.

Liverpool manager Slot has faced a rising amount of pressure following the team’s poor performance early on in the campaign. Liverpool had lost four consecutive Premier League matches going into this cup clash, with their most recent win coming against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

Crystal Palace entered this also match needing a win having failed to win any of their previous four games. Palace manager Oliver Glasner said ahead of Wednesday’s fixture: “We go there to win the game.” Glasner’s confidence in his team has been proven, in the two teams’ previous meetings this season Palace had already beaten the Reds twice.

Arne Slot did attempt to change Liverpool’s current bad luck, opting for a more youthful team, allowing more experienced favourites perhaps a much-needed respite. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah were not selected in Slot’s starting 11; a dramatic change.

Both sides’ hunger for a win was evident as soon as the match started. An early injury for Will Hughes delayed play.

Crystal Palace were able to find weak spots in Liverpool’s defence early on. However, it was not until late into the first half that Palace opened the goal scoring. An error from Joe Gomez allowed Sarr to score and just four minutes later he doubled up with a second goal.

Palace had a good start to the season, albeit having a wobbly run of form recently. Coming off the backend of last season, Crystal Palace managed to go 19 consecutive games unbeaten. Their confidence as a team was evident in this performance.

Federico Chiesa did manage two early attempts at goal for Liverpool but one attempt was too high and the other was saved by Palace goalkeeper Walter Benítez.

The second half only highlighted Liverpool’s weaknesses further. The Reds’ defence grew with frustration, culminating in the 79th minute when Nallo was shown the Red card. The 18-year-old struck down Justin Devenny as he ran down the pitch towards goal.

Palace’s third win against Liverpool this season was secured by a last minute goal by Pino, who curled the ball low and straight past Freddie Woodman.

Slot’s 10-change gamble for Liverpool ultimately did not pay off. Wednesday’s loss led to the fifth consecutive domestic loss for Liverpool, the last time the Reds experienced this was in 1953. Liverpool’s current poor form is looking like the beginning of a crisis.

The line-ups

CRY: Benítez, Guéhi, Lacroix, Canvot, Sosa, Kamada, Hughes, Muñoz, Pino, Sarr, Nketiah