Player ratings: Crystal Palace 0-7 Liverpool
Just wow. A sensational display of finishing from our boys yesterday, as we ruthlessly put Palace to the sword and with that result, surely put to bed any lasting talk of Palace being some kind of bogey team for us. Let’s see how the lads got on.
Alisson (7) – Not much to do, even when Palace had a dominant spell first half. Held a Schlupp header and played the sweeper role well, although one attempted clearance found its way to a Palace player who attempted to catch Alisson out before he got back on his line. It was on but poorly executed. Second half he could have gone home and it would’ve made no difference.
TAA (7) – Had a torrid first half as Palace dominated for spells and I mentioned on the thread he’d been really quiet again. His quality began to show as the game went on however, getting himself an assist for Hendo’s goal and playing a lovely ball that set Salah free in the build up to Firmino’s second. Still a lot more to come from Trent though.
Matip (8.5) – Another fine display from Matip as he dominated in the air, brought the ball out well from the back and even got himself an assist for Salah’s second. All I want for Christmas is a fit Joel Matip.
Fabinho (8) – One horrible mistake first half that set Ayew free and how Palace didn’t score from that chance will remain one of life’s mysteries. That aside however, he made a number of tackles and interceptions and showed his in game intelligence throughout.
Robertson (9) – Just like our good friends at the Echo, I’m scoring Robbo a 9 as he put in yet another excellent display. Got himself another assist with a brilliant cross for Bobby’s first and tormented Palace throughout. Led the way in chances created in the game with 4, twice as many as Trent his closest rival and as Stu mentioned on the thread yesterday, that assist means that since 2018, no player in the Premier league has created more goals than our LB. Have I mentioned he’s Scottish?
Henderson (8.5) – I was screaming at him to get a grip of the midfield in the first half as Palace were having a really threatening spell. He did that however, constantly shouting and communicating. Passing was a bit off first half as well but his quality improved as the game went on, culminating in his devastating strike into the top corner after being laid on by Trent. Sports personality of the year?
Keita (7) – Poor first half as he lost the ball on a few occasions by taking too long to make his mind up or one touch too many. Grew into the game though, enjoyed the keep ball session second half and played a part in two goals. Rarely for Keita, he played the full 90 minutes so we’ll wait to hear how many months he’ll be out injured on the back of it.
Wijnaldum (7) – Another who had a poor first half and this was another Gini performance where he’s somewhat on the fringes. Like a few others though, our lead second half allowed him to enjoy himself a bit more and get heavily involved in our possession game.
Mane (8) – Mane’s got an excellent record against Palace and before the match I tipped him to end his scoring drought, to which he duly obliged. Grabbed himself an assist for the first too but threw a right strop when subbed.
Firmino (9.5) – Whisper it quietly but the last few weeks there’s been signs that the Bobby Dazzler is back. His first was my favourite goal of the day, lovely touch and outside of the boot pass to Robbo, sprints forward 50 yards and then a beautiful touch and finish from Robbo’s cross. His second was a thing of beauty as well, dinking the keeper from a tight angle. Bagged an assist for Mane’s goal too which was enough to earn him this week’s McMOTM.
Minamino (8) – Finally one went in for him. I actually thought he’d messed it up taking a touch and was screaming at him to hit it first time but he took a lovely touch and finish to score his first Premier league goal in the opening minutes of the game and he really should have added another second half. Promising though as he seems to be growing into the team after a slow start to his LFC career.
Subs:
Salah (9) – On another day he could well have been McMOTM, despite being a second half substitute. Two goals and an assist and his second goal was an absolute peach, curled into the top corner. Some rather unsavoury comments about not being named captain against Midtjylland however.
Jones (6) – Even though the game was well won by the time he came on, he was still sprinting around the pitch, demanding the ball from his team mates. Can’t wait to see how this kid develops over the next few years.
Ox (6) – Great to see him back and he actually made some lovely passes and looked lively. Hopefully he can have a sustained period injury free.
Kloppwatch (10) – When you win 7-0 away from home, setting a new club record for a top flight away win, there’s not really any other score for the manager than a 10. If we didn’t put the league on notice after Spurs midweek, we definitely did yesterday. Needs to stop bleating about the five subs thing though, especially after not making a single one against Spurs. It’s not happening, get over it.
Summary
What a game then. Rarely do you get such a high scoring game where every goal is pure quality but that’s what we witnessed yesterday and you’d have a hard job picking the best. I favoured Bobby’s first but his second, as well as Hendo’s and Salah’s were pure class as well.
Curiously, despite the score I don’t think it was close to our best performance of the season. On the contrary, we could easily have been 3-0 down first half but Palace’s final ball was nothing short of atrocious. What transpired however, is what happens if you miss your chances against the champions, you get punished and man did we punish them.
Top of the league at Christmas then for the third year running and we needed a big win to compensate for the Villa game and we got that. Our goal difference is now starting to look like an extra point and in a season likely to be tighter than previous years, that may be important.
Saying that however, injury crisis don’t come much worse than what we’ve had to endure these last months and we’ve not only endured, we’ve excelled. Despite what the likes of Chelsea have invested and Jose’s ability to grind out results, we’re still a cut above the rest of the league and with the likes of Thiago, Milner and Jota to come back into the squad in the coming weeks, we’re only going to get stronger.
A well earned 8 day break for the lads now then, before we host a West Brom team that will have spent a week under new boss Fireman Sam Allardyce, learning how to park the bus and fire engine at the same time. For the likes of Robbo however and a couple of others who already have a lot of games in their legs this season, it’s a good little break and I’d expect Klopp to give some of the lads at least a day or two off.
A Christmas cracker then, to keep our spirits high over the festives. Even if Santa is self isolating…. Walk on!
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