Daniel’s Debrief: Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool

December isn’t about Christmas. It’s about your football team winning games and getting points.

And this week, Liverpool have got nine out of nine. Which was the target ahead of the week.

All three of the wins have been hard work and battles, ones that have been won through grit and character rather than beauty and the spectacular, but that’s what this period of the season is all about.

There’s so many fixtures in December that it’s hard to play well in them all, or even in any of them. It’s a results business right now.

The first half sees Liverpool look like a team that aren’t at all interested in their performance and are just hoping a result will come.

The lack of fluidity and speed of passing is a big problem in the first half and despite a seemingly endless amount of possession, the Reds carve no openings.

Darwin Nunez spends most of the first half offside and it’s another tough day at the office for him. He has a couple of half-chances, including one where he doesn’t make connection with a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick in the second half.

The technique is weird here. He goes with his toe rather than maybe attempt a diving header, which feels a bit awkward and not the attempt of a natural goalscorer.

Having had a great start to the season, he’s stuck in a bit of a rut right now. His inability to stay onside is a huge problem and is killing so many of our attacks right now.

You do perhaps wonder if games against the sides that will sit back and hold a tight line suit him.

It’s not a good sign for him that we’re 1-0 down in a game and your £85m striker is being taken off for a midfielder. 

Luis Diaz is marginally better and is the more involved of the forwards in the first half. He does look to attempt take-ons but he’s not beating his man with any degree of regularity right now.

He does get robbed of a goal late on though, which is a tidy finish and looks onside. It’s the second goal he’s had harshly ruled out this season.

My word, we miss Diogo Jota.

In defence of the front line, our work in the first two phases of the field aren’t great either. The supply to them is non-existent, with the likes of Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch really struggling.

Endo gives away far too many fouls early on and looks out of his depth for much of it. Gravenberch doesn’t look after the ball at all well and runs into traffic way too often.

Trent Alexander-Arnold plays some delicious cutting passes but too many times that’s the only source of progressive passing.

Liverpool look laboured and pedestrian for a lot of this game.

The key moment of the first half is the penalty decision, when Virgil Van Dijk, who is otherwise faultless, makes an extremely rash challenge on Odsonne Edouard. It’s unlike Van Dijk, certainly this season.

The penalty is eventually withdrawn when its recognised that Endo is clearly fouled by Will Hughes. This took nearly four minutes to conclude upon video review, which is just staggering, given how obvious a foul it was. And once again, the on-field referee is only shown the clip in slow-motion. Why?!

VAR is an utter failure.

That’s clear and obvious.

The other flashpoint of the first half is an incredible save from the returning Alisson Becker to deny Jefferson Lerma. It’s similar to his one from Miguel Almiron at Newcastle this season in that it’s all about the reflexes against a shot with such power - credit to Alexander-Arnold for getting rid of the ball after too.

There’s a conversation to be had about Alisson being in amongst the all-time great Premier League goalkeepers alongside Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van Der Sar and Petr Cech.

He is simply phenomenal and makes saves that don’t look possible on a weekly basis. The biggest credit you can give to him for this save is that if Lerma has scored, you wouldn’t have looked for one second at the goalkeeper for being responsible.

It’s also worth mentioning that he makes another fabulous stop late on from Joachim Andersen - after Liverpool have gone 2-1 up. He only has two saves to make all day but they are both hard ones and ones he makes sensationally.

Sometimes you expect a player to be a little rusty after an injury but Alisson comes in today and plays like he’s never been away.

The starting trio in the middle of Dominik Szoboszlai, Endo and Gravenberch struggle to impose themselves on the game and once again, the Reds are well beaten in the scrap. Liverpool have just got to be more physical.

I called for us to look at Joao Palhinha after Fulham last week and boy, would he have made a difference today.

Alexis Mac Allister is missed too, with Palace dominating that area. Will Hughes is unbelievable for the home team and with Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen dominant at the back, Liverpool just don’t compete physically.

Half-time sees Endo brought off after a problematic first half - disappointing after a few good performances this week - and replaced by Joe Gomez, allowing Alexander-Arnold to move into midfield for the second half.

What’s interesting is how much Jurgen Klopp is clearly starting to see this as an option now. It’s also fascinating that Alexander-Arnold is deployed initially in the six role.

The star here is Gomez, who is magnificent at right-back. He gets up and down the flank time after time, beating Nathaniel Clyne more often than not. It’s a brilliant half from him and so much of Liverpool’s improvement in the second half comes from him on that right side.

He’s quietly having a very good season, Gomez. As someone who’s covering three positions all at once, he’s arguably one of the most important members of the squad and hasn’t really had a bad game all season.

Cody Gakpo and Ibrahima Konate are soon on for Gravenberch and Jarell Quansah - but not before controversy surrounding the latter.

Quansah takes out Jean Mateta from a cross, and it’s a penalty that no-one would disagree with. 

However, nearly two minutes of play transpired between the foul happening and the game stopping, before the penalty is finally given. 

Like the Endo one in the first half, the right decision is reached but the length of time it takes is completely unacceptable for those in the stands and the momentum of the game is damaged hugely.

Mateta converts the penalty after Quansah’s first bit of rash defending in a Liverpool shirt, and the Reds are 1-0 down, arguably a scoreline which is deserved.

Starting Quansah over Konate was a decision based largely on Konate’s fitness record, and with Joel Matip now out for the season, there can be no unnecessary risks taken over Konate.

Gakpo makes a difference. He drives and gets Liverpool up the field and also battles physically. On the right side, he combines a few times with Gomez.

From 1-0 down, Liverpool finally join the party. Moments after Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones are brought on for the misfiring Nunez and Szoboszlai, Jordan Ayew is sent off for a second yellow card.

Now, by the letter of the law, you’d say this was the correct decision. But there’s no football fan in the land who is happy to see players sent off for this, I’m certain.

It’s about as soft as Jota’s at Tottenham earlier this season. Two yellows in quick succession for precious little wrong.

Still, it changes things for Liverpool and a minute later, they’re level. Gakpo and Gomez combine well on the flank and it falls to Jones, who tees up Salah. His effort takes a big deflection and is in.

He’d have liked a prettier goal for his 200th for Liverpool, but it’s a very important one. Worth noting here as well that despite the fortune of the strike finding the net, that Liverpool would’ve been certainly awarded a penalty for Joel Ward’s swipe on Jones had it not gone in, and Palace would’ve been down to nine.

Then, one of the first moments of pure quality all day. Elliott is found by Salah and he drifts into the half-space before bending one past Remi Matthews - on for the injured Sam Johnstone.

This is a lovely goal. It’s a calm and composed finish and it bends inside of the post beautifully. 

It’s interesting that after the game, Elliott talks about his goal being an example of what he has learnt from Salah and cutting in on the left foot and slotting one home is certainly very Salah-esque.

And after the Reds ride out nine more minutes of stoppage time, which includes Diaz’s disallowed effort and Alisson’s save from Andersen, we’re home and hosed with nine points from the week and top of the table, a position confirmed after Arsenal’s loss in Birmingham this evening.

The changes made such a difference. Gomez’s half is genuinely marvellous, and Elliott and Jones do what hadn’t been done so far, and win loose balls and compete physically.

Elliott’s goal is one worthy of winning any game and you wonder how big a moment that will be come the end of the season.

And we’ve already had so many moments in this season. Nunez at Newcastle, Robertson at Wolves, Endo and Alexander-Arnold against Fulham and now Elliott today.

A word for Kostas Tsimikas too. Another solid performance from him and when Michael Olise comes on in the second half, you do worry a bit, but he ends up barely noticeable.

Before this week, Liverpool had two away wins all season, a tally they’ve now doubled.

They’ve also risen from 3rd to 1st in the league, and are the only side that have got their job done this week.

It’s been a highly productive week. Not a pretty one but nine enormous points and suddenly, people are going to start talking about Liverpool.

Sure, we can’t keep relying on this, and it would be nice to not have to keep coming from behind, but the character and personality in this team is reminiscent of what there was in 08/09, 18/19, 19/20 and 21/22.

Top of the league.

Daniel