The Match, The Stat: Liverpool 3-1 Crystal Palace
Liverpool were lucky not to concede before they were unlucky when they did. This match was very 2025/26. Almost too 2025/26, if anything.
Top Five Stats
All four of Alexander Isak’s Liverpool goals have been openers. Only Dominik Szoboszlai (seven) and Hugo Ekitike (five) have put the Reds 1-0 up more times this season.
Andy Robertson’s goal was probably the first that saw one full-back assist the other for Liverpool in the Premier League since December 2023. It’s hard to be certain with so many different players deputising in the positions.
Alexis Mac Allister became the first Reds player to provide two assists in a game on more than one occasion in 2025/26, recording his fourth such match for the club. Only Mohamed Salah has done this more times (six) since the Argentine joined Liverpool. #OnlySalah
Freddie Woodman is the first goalkeeper to make at least five saves in a league win for the Reds since Alisson Becker did so at Manchester City last season. The last example at Anfield was delivered by Caoimhín Kelleher against Bournemouth earlier in 2024/25. It’s your turn next, Giorgi.
Three of the shots Woodman kept out were defined as big chances by Opta. The only other example of a Liverpool goalkeeper making a trio of similar value saves this season occurred in the reverse fixture at Selhurst Park.
Match Review
Crystal Palace arrived at Anfield in 13th position in the Premier League. It is their natural resting place. In the 12 completed seasons since they were last promoted, the Eagles have finished no higher than 10th, no lower than 15th.
Having Roy Hodgson be your manager for a sizeable chunk of the time makes that sort of position inevitable, but still. With a trip to Shakhtar Donetsk to come in midweek, it would’ve been no surprise if they went through the motions at Anfield with yet another lower mid-table finish guaranteed.
Not a bit of it. They came to play.
You can’t blame them either. They’ve had Liverpool’s number to some extent in recent years. Even if we choose to dismiss the Carabao Cup clash earlier this season - Arne Slot certainly did with his team selection that night - Palace have now had more Opta-defined big chances than the Reds in all four meetings this season.
But the visitors only had one golden opportunity today before Alexander Isak broke the deadlock. Much has been made recently about his lack of involvement. He had five touches including a shot on target in the first half of both of the recent matches with Paris Saint-Germain and Everton.
Two of the Swede’s first three touches against Palace were clearances. His fifth was the opening goal and he lasted 79 minutes for his third longest appearance of the campaign. There is much more to come.
There should’ve been more output from Jean-Philippe Mateta in this match, as he saw Freddie Woodman save a pair of his big chances. Liverpool countered following the second of them to score a wonderful goal.
“I think the moment of the game was, of course, the lead up to our 2-0 where Freddie made a big save. Otherwise it would have been 1-1 and 10 seconds later it's 2-0. These are the current margins in the Premier League and today they were on our side and so many times they have been not on our side.”
The Reds’ attack then flatlined, as you can see above. There wasn’t too much happening at the other end until Woodman saved another golden opportunity (from Ismaïla Sarr), appearing to injure himself to leave an open goal as a result.
Palace scored. Is all fair in love and war? Their goal was merely the latest in a string of weird occurrences in Liverpool matches this season. Here’s a free article that details them (to the start of March):
Even though the goal denied Woodman a clean sheet, he still earned the club’s Player of the Match award. If anything sums up the Reds’ campaign, it may be that their third choice goalkeeper has now won this gong as many times as Mohamed Salah, the reigning FWA and PFA player of the season.
The nerves that set in were inevitable, mostly minimal and put to bed in stoppage time. Alexis Mac Allister’s assist for Florian Wirtz for the third goal made him the first player to have set up all three of the German, Isak and Hugo Ekitike. Liverpool will need more players than Mac alone to achieve this feat next term.
This match is only the fifth at Anfield in the Premier League in which Liverpool led 2-0 at the break before winning 3-1. Most of the others were rather more memorable. Think John Arne Riise’s free-kick or Dirk Kuyt’s hat-trick against Manchester United. Their cousins from across town were memorably dispatched in the same fashion in October 2019.
This game won’t be remembered anywhere nearly as fondly as those victories. The nature of Daniel Muñoz’s goal means the match won’t be forgotten entirely either, especially in the Woodman household. Liverpool march into the top four while Palace end the day 13th; same as it ever was.
Source for graphics: Opta Analyst, LFC. #ShowFSGTheYellowCard.
I hadn't realised until just looking now that Crystal Palace had conceded the fewest open play goals in the Premier League this season before today. Yep, even fewer than Arsenal or Man City.
So, well done Liverpool for scoring two of them in this match (with their third going down as a throw-in set piece).
Points not performances