Empire of the Kop
·25 mai 2025
What Liverpool players did immediately after Palace guard of honour was super classy

In partnership with
Yahoo sportsEmpire of the Kop
·25 mai 2025
What a wonderful final game of the season this is.
A precursor to the Community Shield clash ahead of the 2025/26 season, owing to Liverpool and Crystal Palace winning the Premier League and FA Cup respectively.
The London-based outfit beat fellow finalists Manchester City 1-0, courtesy of Eberechi Eze’s sole goal on the day.
The Merseysiders will lift the title in front of fans for the first time since the 1989/90 season.
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Oliver Glasner’s men honoured tradition in setting up a guard of honour for the reigning league champions ahead of the opening whistle.
One fan’s footage (@asim_lfc) on X (formerly Twitter), however, showcased the Reds returning the favour in acknowledgement of their opponents’ domestic cup success.
Ultimately, beyond the trophy lift after full-time, this isn’t a game that carries much in the way of significance for either outfit.
Liverpool can’t secure a points total above the 90 mark, and Palace can only rise a couple of places higher in the Premier League table (results depending).
Ultimately, of course, with Europa League football in the bag, courtesy of their FA Cup success, this has to count as a successful campaign for Glasner’s side.
Win, lose, or draw – everyone at Anfield will be leaving with the biggest smiles on their faces.
We rather suspect Arne Slot will have approached this tie with at least one eye on his second campaign in charge of the club.
Alexis Mac Allister has been fully rested (the Argentine isn’t even present on the bench), with Curtis Jones taking his place in the starting-XI.
But honestly… who on earth cares about the result? If both managers shook hands on a draw right now and spent the rest of the 90 minutes joining in with the fan chants in the ground, we’d probably all be the better for it!
A warm congratulations to Crystal Palace, and up the Reds!
Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobile