Liverpool continued to gather momentum for their late surge on a top four finish in a fairly topsy turvy season after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat at Selhurst Park. Joe Ledley scored for The Eagles before a 10-man Liverpool capitalized on errors from the Crystal Palace defense to turn the game around. Liverpool are still 6 points behind 4th placed Manchester City having played 28 games each.
We take a look at the individual player ratings from the game played at Selhurst Park:
Crystal Palace:
Alex McCarthy – 4/10
Alex McCarthy had little to do in the first half with Liverpool managing no shot on target but capitulated majestically in the second half after gifting the ball to Roberto Firmino in front of goal as he slipped while trying to clear a routine back pass. Firmino, of course, scored. He made a few saves but was hoodwinked by a feinting Benteke for the penalty shot.
Papa Souare – 6/10
Souare returning from a 3 match ban did not do himself much of a favor when he attacked from deep but was good defensively for a while. He had an average second half.
Damien Delaney – 6/10
Damien Delaney was stretched a few times by the odd Liverpool attack but over the course of the game did not seem troubled all that much by the Liverpool forward line. He had a solid first half and was fine all the way till the end of the second. That was before he made an avoidable lunge at Benteke deemed enough for a penalty.
Scott Dann – 7/10
Scott Dann had an imperious first half as he and Delaney kept Liverpool from getting a shot on target. He was not troubled at all before Milner’s sending off in the second half after which he needed to be at his best to keep trouble at bay. He could only look on as Liverpool snatched the win from under his nose. He was also booked for his troubles.
Joel Ward – 5/10
Joel Ward was constantly run over by Alberto Moreno on the left and could hardly keep pace with the Liverpool attacks from the left. He was bailed out a number of times by his center backs.
Mile Jedinak – 6/10
Tirelessly working in front of the Palace backline, Mile Jedinak had a solid first half. In the second half, after Milner’s sending off he had trouble tracking Coutinho and was outrun a few times by Liverpool players.
Yohan Cabaye – 7/10
Cabaye was the one orchestrating all of Crystal Palace’s attacks from deep with some fine passing and astute positional play. He went close from a run and a beautifully taken curved shot on the half volley before hitting the side netting. Palace lost their way completely after he was substituted off for Jordan Mutch.
Joe Ledley – 7/10
Preferred to Jordan Mutch, Joe Ledley did exactly what was expected of him. He provided Palace with late runs into the box when in possession (one of which got him the goal) and was always tucking in to provide bodies in the middle to cut off Liverpool’s supply in midfield. He was substituted for Dwight Gayle as Palace chased the win in the later stages of the game.
Yannick Bolasie – 6/10
Bolasie made a few noteworthy runs and had an aura of threat around him but barely managed to trouble Liverpool beyond the ordinary.
Wilfried Zaha – 5/10
Zaha hardly impacted the game. He had plenty of opportunities to take advantage of space left behind by Alberto Moreno but didn’t ever do so with any impact.
Emmanuel Adebayor – 6/10
Adebayor made a few clever runs off the defenders’ shoulders but did not have enough about him except for a shot that hit the post. He did decent while holding up the ball and kept the defenders on him busy.
Substitutes
Jordan Mutch – 4/10
Mutch was largely anonymous since coming on as Liverpool were in the ascendancy since the sending off.
Dwight Gayle – 4/10
He hardly saw the ball enough to do anything of note
Bakary Sako – 4/10
He hardly saw enough of the ball either.
Liverpool:
Simon Mignolet – 7/10
Solid performance from an otherwise unpredictable player, Mignolet grasped the ball well when he plucked it out of the air, made an incredible save early on to keep scores level and was largely error free.
Jon Flanagan – 6/10
Flanagan looked leggy and was decent up against Bolasie. He made a few rash tackles but none whose impact lasted.
Dejan Lovren – 9/10
Lovren was for the first ten minutes a little unsettled as Palace assaulted the Liverpool goal but was imperious in the air and on the ground thereafter. He was shifted to right back after the sending off and his workrate went through the roof. Didn’t give a Palace player a sniff once shifted to the right and closed down Palace players in their own half including spectacularly closing down Souare after a 35-40 yard, nicking the ball off him and putting in a cross. Incredible performance from the Croatian.
Mamadou Sakho – 7/10
Sakho was solid and was particularly good after the sending off.
Alberto Moreno – 6/10
Moreno was good going forward but once again showed a lack of intelligence when holding the defensive line. His athleticism bailed him out often.
Emre Can - 7/10
Can was slow off the mark but did well in the second half after Palace opened the scoring. He played like a man possessed after the sending off effectively covering his duties as a center back and central midfielder once Milner was sent off.
Jordan Henderson - 6/10
Henderson was decent but has seen an alarming drop of form since his return from a recurring heel problem.
James Milner - 4/10
Milner was putting in a fine shift before being sent off for his second booking. The first booking was a tad silly from the England International but the second was a desperate attempt to stop Palace from counter attacking after he lost the ball high up the pitch.
Roberto Firmino - 7/10
Leggy performance aside, Firmino was aware enough to capitalize on the slip from McCarthy to score the equalizer. He kept trying hard and put a good shift in otherwise but was very obviously tired by the end of the game.
Adam Lallana – 6/10
After a great performance at Anfield, Adam Lallana looked a shadow of the player that led the charge against Manchester City. He had an ordinary game by any means.
Divock Origi – 6/10
An industrious performance from the Belgian forward but could’ve done much better on a number of occasions. He needs to release the ball quicker when on the break. His general link up play was ordinary today.
Substitutes
Philippe Coutinho – 6/10
Coutinho showed great movement and positional play but passed poorly for a player of his standard. His presence, combined with a change in gears from the Liverpool team after the sending off, were crucial to Liverpool’s change in fortunes.
Christian Benteke – 7/10
Benteke moved well in comparison to his lethargy otherwise but was notably urged to get into the box by other players when they received the ball and he wasn’t in the box. His run in behind Delaney was what led to the incident which won him the penalty. He took the penalty very calmly and gave Liverpool the winner. He also had another chance from a corner before the last gasp penalty but he could just about play it into McCarthy’s grateful arms.
Kolo Toure – N/A
