Palace had more of the ball and 19 shots, but Liverpool scored first from a front-post free kick and then twice on the break. Alisson made six saves, Wirtz scored his first league goal of the season, and two defeats in a row are over.
The numbers
| Liverpool | Crystal Palace | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 46% | 54% |
| Shots | 20 | 19 |
| On target | 8 | 7 |
| xG | 2.65 | 2.6 |
| Touches in opp. box | 37 | 33 |
| Corners | 7 | 4 |
Result the chances deserved: Liverpool 42% / 18% / Crystal Palace 40% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Araújo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson, Richards, Disasi, Lerma, Mingueza, Wharton, Timber, Mitchell, Kamada, Pino, Strand Larsen.
Crystal Palace subs: Osorio (60', Timber), Nketiah (71', Strand Larsen), McNeil (87', Pino), Khalaili (87', Mingueza). Unused: Benítez, Canvot, Chilwell, Doucouré, Hughes (Crystal Palace FC). Strand Larsen led the line with Mateta suspended (Crystal Palace FC). Palace head coach: Pierre Sage.
Booked: Araújo (24'), Barcola (59'), Pino (69'), Muñoz (82', simulation), Lerma (82'), Mac Allister (83') (FotMob, Crystal Palace FC). Possession, shots, xG and touches in the box from FotMob; shots on target and corners from Crystal Palace FC's match centre, which has possession at 54–47. Small minute differences: Crystal Palace FC's match centre has Nketiah on at 72' and Pino's booking at 71'.
Key moments, move by move
- Liverpool win a free kick out wide on the right; Palace's own report calls the decision contentious (Crystal Palace FC, FotMob).
- Szoboszlai sends it towards the front post (Liverpool FC).
- Mac Allister loses his marker, Quinten Timber, and gets there first (Sky Sports).
- His glancing header goes into the far corner: his fifth league goal of the season, as many as in all of last season (FotMob, Sky Sports).
- Barcola wins the ball and Liverpool break (Sky Sports).
- Barcola races away down the right (Liverpool FC).
- Isak's run drags a defender away and opens the space behind him, Iraola said (Yahoo Sports); Barcola's low cross goes past every Palace defender (ESPN).
- Wirtz arrives around the penalty spot and finishes first time into the bottom-left corner: his first league goal of the season (Crystal Palace FC, ESPN, Sky Sports).
- Muñoz, on for Barcola, breaks at pace (Crystal Palace FC).
- He finds Wirtz, who slips the ball to Isak (Crystal Palace FC).
- Isak's right-footed shot from close range hits Disasi and loops over Henderson (Crystal Palace FC, FotMob, ESPN).
- Kerkez and Osorio go up together for a bouncing ball in Liverpool's box and their heads clash (Yahoo Sports).
- Tony Harrington gives a penalty and VAR Michael Salisbury confirms it (Yahoo Sports, Crystal Palace FC).
- Nketiah, on since 71', scores with the last kick of the game (Sky Sports, Crystal Palace FC).
Palace had the ball and the chances; Liverpool had Alisson and the breaks
- Who played. Five changes from the defeat in Istanbul: Araújo, Kerkez, Gakpo, Isak and Wirtz came back in (Liverpool FC). Liverpool played a 4-2-3-1 with Szoboszlai beside Mac Allister; Palace a 3-4-2-1 with Strand Larsen up front for the suspended Mateta (FotMob, Crystal Palace FC).
- Palace's first half. Pino hit the bar at 18', Strand Larsen had a chip ruled out for offside after a VAR check at 33', and Alisson kept out Kamada's volley at 38' and Wharton's header at 43' (Crystal Palace FC, Sky Sports). Iraola: "First half we struggled a little bit defensively" (Yahoo Sports).
- The goals. Five minutes before half-time Mac Allister lost Timber and glanced Szoboszlai's free kick in at the front post (Sky Sports, Liverpool FC). Iraola called going in 1–0 "massive" (Yahoo Sports). Barcola's break and cross made it 2–0 for Wirtz at 54', and Isak finished another break at 89' (Liverpool FC, Crystal Palace FC).
- The numbers. Palace had 54% of the ball and 19 shots to Liverpool's 20, and FotMob had the xG almost level, 2.65 to 2.60, with Nketiah's stoppage-time penalty in Palace's figure. Alisson made six saves (Sky Sports). Liverpool have 13 away points, the most in the league (Sky Sports).
Tactical scenes
Palace attacked with both wing-backs high, and Mitchell was a constant threat on the overlap down the left (Crystal Palace FC). That left the space behind him. Liverpool kept Barcola, Isak and Gakpo up, so when the ball was won, one pass put them level with Palace's back three. Barcola's break for Wirtz's goal at 54' came that way, Mitchell needed a sliding tackle to stop another at 58', and Muñoz broke for the third at 89'.
Evidence: Two of Liverpool's three goals came from fast breaks: Wirtz's after Barcola won the ball and ran down the right, Isak's after Muñoz broke at pace (Crystal Palace FC, Liverpool FC, FotMob). Liverpool had only 46% of the ball but 37 touches in Palace's box to 33 (FotMob). Crystal Palace FC match report · Liverpool FC match report · FotMob match page
Recreate it in FM26
Liverpool · Iraola's 4-2-3-1 that gave Palace the ball and broke · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Iraola's 4-2-3-1 that gave Palace the ball and broke
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alisson | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Araújo | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Jacquet | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Van Dijk | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Kerkez | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Szoboszlai | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Mac Allister | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Barcola | Inside Forward | Wide Outlet Winger |
| AM | Wirtz | Advanced Playmaker | Central Outlet Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gakpo | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Isak | Channel Forward | Splitting Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Crossing StyleLow Crosses
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive LineStandard
- TacklingAggressive
The idea: Give a back-three side the ball, keep three forwards high and break into the space behind their wing-backs. It needs a goalkeeper who saves the chances you will give away and an Advanced Playmaker who plays the first pass forward.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce Alisson's six saves, which kept the game level until Liverpool's breaks counted.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Endo on at 60' (for Szoboszlai), Gomez on at half-time (for Araújo). Keep the 4-2-3-1 and the breaks, but protect the right side: Gomez for the booked Araújo at half-time and Endo for a tiring Szoboszlai at the hour. Fewer Palace chances, the same route to goal. It moves Liverpool's win chance from 42% to 46% (xG 2.65–2.60 becomes 2.65–2.35). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Liverpool needed
Wataru Endo
Palace's best chances came in front of Liverpool's back four: Kamada's volley, Wharton's header, Pino's effort at 77'. Endo is the squad's most natural screening midfielder and could have taken over from a Szoboszlai who, Iraola said, was not 100%.
Jurriën Timber
Palace's best route was their left: Mitchell overlapping outside Pino against Araújo, who was booked at 24'. A right-back who defends one against one and still tracks the overlap closes that side without a winger having to drop in.
What the analysts said
“We needed this win, definitely. It was important to score first and we controlled the second half.”Andoni Iraola (Yahoo Sports)
“I think we found good positions between the lines, but we were not giving the last pass properly.”Andoni Iraola (Liverpool FC)
“To go to the changing room 1-0 was massive.”Andoni Iraola (BBC, via Yahoo Sports)
“But I told him, the one I appreciate more is the movement he does in Florian's goal.”Andoni Iraola on Isak (Liverpool FC)
“I am very upset because the ones in our box they are calling penalties and in the other box they are not.”Andoni Iraola (Yahoo Sports)
“For the moment, we don't have the results expected.”Pierre Sage (Sky Sports)
“Liverpool won 3-1 away from home but their goalkeeper was their best player.”Jamie Carragher (Sky Sports)
Palace played better for long spells, but Liverpool had Alisson and the breaks.
What's happening. Liverpool won 3–1 at the bottom club and ended two defeats in a row. It was not comfortable. Palace had more of the ball, 19 shots and almost the same xG (FotMob). Alisson made six saves (Sky Sports). Liverpool scored from a free kick five minutes before half-time, then twice on the break.
How it works. A back three with wing-backs who attack gives a side width and bodies in the final third. Palace used it well: Mitchell kept overlapping outside Pino on the left. The cost is the space behind the wing-backs when the ball is lost. Liverpool left Barcola, Isak and Gakpo high, so one pass after a turnover put them three against three. Both second-half goals came that way.
What the shots say. FotMob had the xG almost level, and nearly a third of Palace's came from the late penalty. One reading: Liverpool made the better open-play chances and won fairly. The other: both sides had five big chances (FotMob), Palace missed theirs, and a team that lets the bottom club shoot 19 times will not get away with it every week.