Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool: 5 Talking Points

#2 Unlucky Palace continue their improvement under Hodgson

It was a frustrating night for The Eagles

The early stages of last season saw Palace reeling at the bottom of the table after losing their first six games, which eventually led to the sacking of Frank De Boer. Credit must be given to Hodgson for giving them the boost which saw The Eagles finish 11th after a disastrous start.

This time around, Palace opened their account in the opening weekend with a 2-0 win over Fulham but were left frustrated after Monday night's clash against Liverpool at Selhurst Park. Palace displayed some really good organization with their midfield, comprising of Milivojevic, McArthur and Schlupp blocking all passing lanes which left the likes of Keita, Wijnaldum with less space to operate.

Palace's defence put in a noteworthy performance against Liverpool's revered front three with Mamadou Sakho impressing his former employees with a resolute defensive display alongside James Tomkins. The full backs, Van Aanholt and Wan-Bissaka were equally proficient in attack and defence although the latter was sent off after denying Salah a clear goal scoring opportunity.

Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend displayed some neat footwork and got into some really dangerous positions behind the Liverpool defence. They looked to take the game to Liverpool although their team was 0-1 down, which shows the mentality that Hodgson has instilled in the side. The only disappointing player for Palace was Christian Benteke who was let down by his decision making and was well marshalled by Van Dijk and Gomez.

Overall, Palace were unlucky on several occasions but can take some positives from their brave display against Liverpool.