Liverpool capped off a challenging week with a disheartening 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday, which did nothing to improve their chances of finishing in the Premier League’s top four.
Jurgen Klopp’s uneven side struggled against a Palace club that maintained its first clean sheet against Liverpool in 18 years after being beaten 5-2 at home by Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Reds climbed up to seventh position, six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.
Palace are 12th in the league, six points above the relegation zone, with no wins in their last eight league games.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah struck the crossbar in the second half, although Palace had two golden opportunities in the first half, with Marc Guehi headed wide and Jean-Philippe Mateta shooting against the crossbar.
Liverpool can take some solace from a third consecutive league clean sheet, but they were far from their best as they battled to create any rhythm.
“We’d prefer a stronger performance and three points,” midfielder James Milner stated.
“We must continue. We are our own toughest critics. It’s critical that we don’t listen to the sounds outside. It’s all up to us. We’re the only ones who can make a difference.”
Liverpool controlled early on without really testing Palace’s defence, and they were fortunate that Patrick Vieira’s side’s goal-scoring difficulties reappeared.
Prior to the interval, Palace had the greatest opportunities, the first coming when Michael Olise provided a magnificent free kick, but Guehi could not direct his powerful header on goal.
Jeffrey Schlupp took advantage of some bad defending by Trent Alexander-Arnold and crossed low for Mateta, who should have scored but clipped the crossbar.
Liverpool began the second half well, with Harvey Elliott coming off the bench to enliven their midfiel. Their danger faded, and the hosts seemed just as likely to capture all three points, yet a draw was about fair as Palace secured their first home point against Liverpool since 2014.
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