Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace must especially enjoy a Sunday afternoon at Anfield: the vaunted atmosphere, the TV audience, and the small matter of winning three of their past four outings.

Of course, the plucky team from south London have been the whipping boys for much of the seven intervening years, between those most recent wins, but let's not let that spoil a nice statistic.

If Jurgen Klopp dominated the pre-match narrative, build-up and part of Oliver Glasner's own pre-game press conference, the game belonged to Klopp's Austrian counterpart.

The result itself was cathartic for fans, players and coaches alike. As often as you can state logical arguments for why performances were trending in the correct direction, people naturally remain result-focused when developing their opinions.

In that sense, the unwarranted fan criticism levied at players such as Dean Henderson, seemingly evaporated after one victory. In truth, his performances remained assured and at the same level in past weeks – but this time he didn't face the world-class finishing of Manchester City.

The win all but takes Palace away from the relegation battle beneath them.

Luton Town will need 1.8 points per game just to surpass the team's current points total. Even if the head coach entered every match intending to win, a daunting set of fixtures will now seem competitive for those watching from the stands.

As ever, mentalities in football can be fickle and shift quickly – but fan enthusiasm has likely replaced nerves ahead of West Ham next week.

Alex Pewter can be found at FYP podcast, external

Crystal Palace have scouted Real Betis' Juan Miranda, although Brentford, West Ham and Wolves are also keen on the 24-year-old Spain left-back. (HITC), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

We asked for your views on Liverpool's defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Here are some of your answers :

Liverpool fans

Debbie: Where was the pace and desire? Too much passing around the back , the few times they went with pace down the wing they were in! Didn’t do it often enough. Finishing in the games since we played United has also been poor.

Dan: It looked like we never left the dressing room in the first half. Too many holes in our defensive shape, no desire to win the ball back or press them. It was far to easy for Palace to pass between the lines. Second half was better but again no composure in front of goal, it felt rushed. We broke through a few times but poor decisions cost us.

Matthew: Absolutely poor performance. Letting them stand in the box alone to tap home their goal was schoolboy football. Jones has to take five touches even if one is needed and Salah is a shadow of his former self and doesn’t run in behind. A slow start again and some of them didn’t look like they wanted to be there.

Crystal Palace fans

Rich: Performances have been getting better and stamina improving. This was the best individual performance from our defenders in months, everyone was immense. Mateta was awesome and very unlucky not to have two goals. Wharton again showed class. What a crazy game though and Henderson was brilliant too.

Tony: It was a gutsy performance by Palace and in the second half we weathered a Liverpool onslaught. On another day it could have ended 3-3 given the chances missed by both teams. But Liverpool were off the pace in many respects and Palace took advantage. A wonderful result for the Eagles to ease their possible relegation fears.

Vivienne: Fabulous team performance. The manager must take credit. I watched the first team training at Selhurst Park this week. We could all see the hard work the team is putting in! And now it has paid off.

Image source, Getty Images

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards says Crystal Palace's performance against Liverpool should give the players and fans hope of a "brighter future" under Oliver Glasner.

It was the Austrian's first league win since taking charge of the club in late February and it was done in style.

"It was a great collective performance," said Edwards on the Football Daily podcast. "And it was a much needed win and day out for their supporters.

"The fans needed that lift because it has been a pretty depressing season for them. Their noise really came through and it should give them a bit of hope that there could be a brighter future ahead.

"There have been questions about whether they will ever be more than a bottom half of the table team, so that win needs to be a spring board for next season.

"They have a new manager and although it has taken a while for him to get his ideas across, there have been some encouraging signs."

Eberechi Eze posed a threat all afternoon at Anfield, finding pockets of space to make life as uncomfortable as possible for Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.

But with stand out performers comes risk.

"My worry for them is that in the summer they will lose Eze and their brilliant young players they have nurtured and produced," added Edwards.

"You want them to be the core of the new and vibrant Palace team next season, but I worry they will get poached and taken away.

"That is unfortunately the food chain in the Premier League."

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Jason Mohammad introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

West Ham United v Fulham

Arsenal v Aston Villa

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After five games without a win, Crystal Palace fans could be forgiven for getting a little twitchy as the gap to the bottom three became gradually smaller.

This was some way to rid themselves of any lingering concerns over relegation.

Just a second win under Oliver Glasner but a hugely impressive one that provided a glimpse of what the future might hold under the Austrian.

The fight, grit and determination showed in the second half to preserve their one-goal lead was what you might expect from a bottom-half side away at a title contender.

What came in the first 45 minutes, though, was a long way from the norm as the Eagles put in the performance of a side whose aspirations should extend far beyond top-flight survival in the coming years.

Few teams go to Anfield and impose themselves in the way Palace did during the first half, with 20-year-old Adam Wharton putting in another excellent display in central midfield.

A 21-pass move leading to Eberechi Eze's goal was the coup de grace but, with Premier League survival now all but assured, there was plenty in Palace's first-half performance to get their supporters excited about what is to come with Glasner.

Image source, Getty Images

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson spoke to BBC Match of the day after victory over Liverpool: "Coming to places like this, you know you're going to be busy. I'm delighted to be back this time around, it's a team effort, I'm delighted.

"The amount of blocks, passes across, blocks. They made save after save for me, I had to make saves as well.

"I felt like I was out there for about a year, we rode our luck at times but I'm delighted.

"I think the lads believed we could do something today on the coach today, the pressure was on them. If we play our stuff and once bodies come back, with what the manager has got us doing, we will be playing good stuff.

"I feel good this time around, I feel fit and I've got a smile on my face."

Oliver Glasner spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Crystal Palace's victory over Liverpool: "It's an outstanding win at Anfield, it's so difficult to win here. How they played, especially in the first half, is so nice to see. In the second half, there was a lot of pressure from Liverpool. Congratulations to the team on this performance today.

On playing with their own identity: "It's what we always talk about. Tomorrow we can say we did it our way, you can always lose here, but it's about being able to express yourself and play with confidence. We cleared many situations under pressure with one/two touch. We scored an amazing goal. it's about confidence, team spirit, passion.

On making 21 passes in the build-up to the goal: "I thought it was a maximum 15 so again, applause to the team. It's always easy before a game to say pass here and here on the screen. There was good runs in the box, you get space in the cut backs, it was a nice goal.

Do you have an understanding of what you're trying to do?: "The clear picture I had before, but it's always being able to adapt and fit to the players. I wouldn't tell a player to sing if they can't sing, if someone asked me to sing it would be terrible. It's still on the way, the first half was excellent, in the second half we can do better, but the passion and the spirit was there today.

What's next moving forward?: "Next week we face West Ham and we need the same spirit and the same power. I think today will give us confidence, but we need to stay humble. We will have an intense training week again, we will analyse well but it is always to do your job at your best level because we are playing against the best teams. Again, a great win for Crystal Palace and the team."

• Crystal Palace ended a 13-game winless run in the Premier League against Liverpool (D2 L11), with this their first league win over the Reds since April 2017. Each of the Eagles’ past four league wins over Liverpool have been at Anfield.

• This was Liverpool’s first Premier League defeat at Anfield since October 2022 against Leeds; the Reds were unbeaten in 28 home league games prior to today (W22 D6).

• This was Crystal Palace’s first Premier League win away from home since November against Burnley, ending their 10-match winless run on the road (D4 L6).

• Liverpool have conceded the opening goal in four of their last five league games at Anfield – as many as their previous 22 beforehand. The Reds have now gone nine games without a home clean sheet in the Premier League, their joint-longest such run (also runs of 9 in December 1996 and May 1999).

• Eberechi Eze scored his 22nd Premier League goal for Crystal Palace, moving him joint-fifth for the club all-time in the competition (level with Jordan Ayew), behind only Wilfried Zaha (68), Christian Benteke (35), Luka Milivojevic (28), and Chris Armstrong (23).

Liverpool's Premier League title hopes suffered a huge blow as they fell to a 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace at Anfield.

Eberechi Eze converted from Tyrick Mitchell's cut-back to finish off a flowing Palace move early on and the visitors were deservedly in front at the break.

Jurgen Klopp's Reds ramped up the pressure in the second half but, just as in recent games against Manchester United and Atalanta, their finishing let them down as they fell to their first home league defeat November 2022.

Defeat leaves Liverpool two points behind leaders Manchester City and level on points with Arsenal before the Gunners' game against Aston Villa later on Sunday (16:30 BST kick-off).

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

How did you rate the side's performance, Liverpool fans?

Palace fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

Follow all of the reaction here

Three matches make up Sunday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

All times BST

Listen to radio commentaries of all matches and follow live text updates here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on actor and Leyton Orient fan Daniel Mays.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

This is a must-win for Liverpool following their slip-up at Old Trafford. They have got some tricky games in their run-in but I don't see this being one of them, even though they played in the Europa League against Atalanta on Thursday.

One issue for Jurgen Klopp's side is that Mohamed Salah has not been at his sharpest since he has come back from injury - he has been missing chances that you expect him to put away.

Crystal Palace have now gone five games without a win since beating Burnley in Oliver Glasner's first match in charge. They need to pick up some points, and quickly, to avoid being dragged into the relegation battle but they are not getting anything at Anfield.

Daniel's prediction: 2-0

This should be straightforward for Liverpool.

See the full list of predictions here

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Liverpool (14:00 BST kick-off).

Here are the key headlines from his news conference:

• On Michael Olise returning to the side after playing the last 15 minutes in Palace's previous fixture against Manchester City: "He’s closer [to starting] than the week before. He had the whole week training with us. It’s been a really good week and Michael was part of it, so he’s close to starting. I think Michael can't win the game alone, but he has a big role, and all the others have a big role."

• On facing Liverpool: "Every team has, of course, their strengths, and Liverpool have a lot of strengths – but also they have their weaknesses, their zones where you can find space and where you can create chances and score goals. Everything must be perfect. Then, it's possible to score goals against them. I watched the game just to maybe find something that helps us to win at Anfield, so it was not totally new what I could see."

• On Jairo Riedewald potentially returning at Anfield: “We have no new injuries, but Jairo is coming back. He trained the whole week with us and he could be in the squad on Sunday. You always have to be careful because if a player is out for five, six or seven weeks, it's not like he can have one week's training and play 90 minutes. He will have to find his rhythm, like all the other injured players."

• On the relegation battle: "It's up to us to get the points that we need. I don't know how many it will be – [if it] should be six, should be nine, should be five… If we don't get one point until the end of the season and 30 points means relegation, then it's our fault. We can't blame anybody else."

Follow the rest of Friday's news conferences here

Here are the key facts and figures before Liverpool host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

• Liverpool are unbeaten in their past 13 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W11 D2) since a 2-1 home loss in April 2017.

• Having won their first Premier League game under Oliver Glasner, Palace are now without a victory in five.

• The Reds are unbeaten in their past 28 home league games, winning 22 and drawing six. However, they have not kept a clean sheet in their past eight at Anfield, last having a longer run between December 1998 and May 1999 (nine matches).

• The Eagles have conceded about 10 goals more than expected in the Premier League this season (54 goals conceded, 44.3 xG against), with only Sheffield United having a bigger such difference in the competition this term (82 conceded, 61.2 xG against).

• Liverpool have had 629 shots in the Premier League this season, at least 70 more than any other side. Their average of 20.3 shots per game is the third highest on record (since 1997-98) in a Premier League campaign, after Chelsea in 2009-10 (21.9) and 2008-09 (21).

• Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored four goals in his past six league games for Crystal Palace, with his seven overall this season his best return in a Premier League campaign.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Liverpool v Crystal Palace at 14:00 BST on Sunday

Jean Philippe-Mateta has been a player reborn for Crystal Palace this season.

The striker has been in the best form for the club since he signed on an 18-month loan deal from Mainz 05 in January 2021. The deal was then made permanent a year later.

The 26-year-old is having his best goal scoring season too, with 10 goals in all competitions including seven in the league. Before this return he hadn’t scored more than five times in the league in his three previous campaigns.

What is most impressive about his goal contributions this season is that his seven goals and four assists have come in just 18 league starts.

Since new manager Oliver Glasner has come in, Mateta has flourished with four goals in the Austrian’s first six games in charge.

Training sessions under Glasner are intense and it forces players to work at a new level and some have mentioned how the new style of play is taking some getting used to.

Mateta has prospered with the Eagles players asked to get the ball forward quicker to try to hurt the opposition.

It’s understood that contract talks with Mateta are planned before the end of the campaign. In the summer he will be entering the last two years of his current deal and clubs such as Stuttgart, Betis, and Sevilla have shown an interest in the Frenchman.

It’s likely to be a busy summer at Selhurst Park with players such as Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze expected to be of interest to clubs higher up the table.

Eze was pursued by Manchester City last summer, so being able to secure Mateta to a longer deal now that he has really started to look at home would be ideal for everyone at Selhurst Park. Things look to have clicked for the forward.

Crystal Palace and Fulham are looking into a move for Union Berlin's former Netherlands Under-21 centre-back Danilho Doekhi, 25. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

Injured Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is hopeful of a return to the pitch before the end of the season.

The 23-year-old picked up a knee injury against Brighton in early February and has not been involved since.

Guehi had played 26 times for the Eagles this campaign before being sidelined.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: "I'm lucky I've got good people around me taking care of me. My family have been there, the physios have been there, the team have been around me. I'm really fortunate everything's going well.

"That [returning before the end of the season] is the plan. Hopefully I can come back and help the lads in the last few games. I'm just willing to get back and play, really."

Since the England international last featured, Palace have had a change in management, with Oliver Glasner taking over from Roy Hodgson.

Guehi said "there's a lot of running" from what he has watched of the new boss' training so far and added: "It's good. We've needed that intensity, that drive to our game."

Relegation may be a statistical unlikelihood for Crystal Palace, but it may be a closer-run race than anyone will be truly comfortable with.

The weekend's results went against them, all while the team is on course for the lowest Premier League points tally in the 11 seasons since promotion.

The last time the team was left with 30 points at this stage was Roy Hodgson's first - 2017-18 - when he proceeded to gather 14 points and go unbeaten for the final six matches, finishing 11th.

Oliver Glasner will no doubt wish to replicate such a run, albeit against more challenging opponents.

However, despite poor form on paper, finding many faults in recent matches remains difficult. The performance against Manchester City was spirited, even if the result, much like the previous three games, was ultimately frustrating.

Glasner’s substitutes, namely Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise, impacted the game, and the conditioning levels have improved since the Austrian coach's arrival.

Olise may be the largest glimmer of hope, and while his return was time-restricted on Saturday, he may offer the cutting edge the side has lacked in tight matches.

The squad issues throughout the season beyond Glasner’s tenure have been well documented, as have the injury woes. But the post-mortem will have to wait.

This is a club in desperate need of a blank slate in the summer to rebuild the playing staff. For now, they need a few results to close out this largely disappointing season.

Alex Pewter can be found at FYP podcast, external

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton and The New York Times' chief soccer correspondent Rory Smith have been talking about how a few clubs could be dragged into a relegation battle in the final stages of the season.

Rory believes that both Brentford and Crystal Palace "will still be looking very nervously over their shoulders".

Brentford sit in 15th and haven't won in their last nine games - but have had three consecutive draws against Aston Villa, Brighton and Manchester United. While 14th placed Crystal Palace are winless in their last five.

Sutton feels "Brentford will be fine" but Palace have a "tricky run-in".

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