The loss leaves Liverpool lying in twelfth in the league…
Liverpool lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace on the weekend, a defeat that has left them languishing in the bottom half of the league after twelve games. The match was a return to the scene where they threw away their title chances last season after letting a three goal lead slip – but this time the result was even worse.
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Here are five things that we learned from the game…
5) Ex-Southampton duo show promise
In a game with few pluses for the Reds, former Southampton players Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert at least showed a little promise in their performances. Their link up for the goal was a mirror of many they scored for the South coast club in years past, and also showed that Brendan Rodgers has options beyond Mario Balotelli at Anfield.
4) Dejan Lovren is still awful
The centre-back had another terrible game for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and at present it looks hard to envisage him regaining the form that originally earned him a move to Anfield. Unlike the two other players that came from Southampton in the last transfer window, the Croatian has shown no signs of improvement. His slip in the build up to the second goal pretty much summed up his season.
3) Liverpool are going to be missing Suarez for a long time
It was always expected that Luis Suarez would be missed, but not by this much. The main problem seems to be that new signings Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli just aren’t the same type of player as the Uruguayan. This has left the Reds trying to play in a manner that doesn’t work with the less mobile, more “target-man” style striker that they currently have up front. Last year’s top scorer will be missed for a while yet.
2) Crystal Palace love Merseyside clubs
The Eagles have already beaten Everton this season as well as this latest win against Liverpool. This continues from two victories against the clubs late last season. No one’s quite sure what it is, but the London club definitely have something over their Merseyside rivals.
1) Brendan Rodgers is right – he is under pressure
The Northern Irishman is perhaps a victim of his own success. The title challenge last season was not a true reflection of the strength of the squad, and now Rodgers is suffering as they have reverted to type. On the other hand, you may be able to say that he should have done more with the money from Luis Suarez’s sale, and the current manner in which they are losing is also worrying. Either way, things will need to improve if Rodgers wants to continue in a job.