Wasteful Crystal Palace fail to punish Klopp’s nervous Liverpool in draw

After the week Liverpool have been through, Jürgen Klopp will just be pleased that it is over. A nervous performance following their embarrassment against Real Madrid in the Champions League was perhaps to be expected but Klopp will be thankful for Crystal Palace’s wastefulness as they squandered a hatful of opportunities that were handed to them on a plate by some at times slapstick defending in the first half.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, in particular, endured a torrid opening 45 minutes as Jean-Philippe Mateta spurned two golden opportunities for Patrick Vieira’s side to record their first win of 2023 at the ninth attempt. Liverpool did improve slightly after the break, with Mohamed Salah striking the crossbar, yet they will have to improve significantly to salvage anything from this campaign.

“It’s a good point,” said Klopp. “Could we have done better? Yes. But we’re very happy with a clean sheet and we have to keep going. We cannot suffer because of our own history.”

The Liverpool manager had urged his players to “fight back” after the 5-2 thrashing at Anfield in midweek that realistically ended any chance of silverware this season and this was at least ground gained as they attempt to overhaul fourth-placed Tottenham. That gap is now six points with a game in hand against Wolves on Wednesday that Klopp will hope can banish the Madrid mauling for good.

For Vieira, there was disappointment that his side could not find the breakthrough as they recorded a fifth draw in their last six matches. “We played with great intensity but didn’t take our chances,” he said. “It is frustrating but we have to try and rebuild their confidence.”

While there was no place in the matchday squad for Darwin Núñez, who is still suffering from the shoulder injury he sustained last week, Joël Matip, James Milner, Naby Keïta and Diogo Jota all returned to Liverpool starting lineup. Palace’s last win back on New Year’s Eve against Bournemouth was also the last time they had met opposition in the bottom half of the table as Vieira’s side have picked up creditable points against Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton. Yet having seen Liverpool’s struggles against Madrid, they must have fancied their chances against opposition desperately short on confidence despite not beating Liverpool since an away win in April 2017.

Jürgen Klopp will want to quickly forget this week after Liverpool battled to a draw at Crystal Palace. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

An awful back pass from Alexander-Arnold following a mix-up with Matip was early evidence of the uncertainty swirling around Liverpool’s defence these days, although this time they got away with it when Alisson rushed out to deny Mateta. Jota fired straight at Vicente Guaita after a promising Liverpool move and Andy Robertson struck the outside of the post from a tight angle before Alisson was mightily relieved to see the assistant raise his flag after his poor kick gave away possession.

Only inches separated the Palace captain Marc Guéhi from giving his side the lead when he headed Michael Olise’s free-kick wide following some non-existent defending. Liverpool’s luck was just about summed up when Jordan Henderson inadvertently got in the way of a goalbound free-kick from Alexander-Arnold and the ball sailed harmlessly off target.

A sumptuous cross from Olise that was begging to be headed in somehow eluded Mateta, Jeffrey Schlupp and Tyrick Mitchell with Alexander-Arnold nowhere to be seen. The England defender’s error-strewn half continued when he lost the ball to Schlupp inside the area but again Mateta could not make him pay as he somehow hit the crossbar from only six yards out.

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Somehow Alexander-Arnold was not withdrawn at the break, although Klopp did turn to Harvey Elliott to replace the ineffective Keïta. “Trent plays all the games, so that makes it really tricky,” said the Liverpool manager afterwards, although he refused to admit he is suffering from a lack of confidence. “I didn’t take him off because he always gives us something going forward.”

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Alexander-Arnold’s first act of the second half was to block Schlupp’s goalbound header with the back of his head but it was his cross that eventually led to Salah curling a shot off the crossbar from the edge of the box. A stinging effort that forced Guaita into a save was another promising moment for Liverpool who at least seemed to be making more of an effort as Elliott buzzed around in midfield.

Alexander-Arnold’s evening came to an end when he was replaced by Fabinho with 20 minutes to play before Cody Gakpo and Salah wasted a good chance on the break to win it late on. For all their huff and puff in the closing stages, Palace could not create another chance of any note despite the introduction of Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Édouard as their search for a victory goes on.