Crystal Palace have once again proven they have what it takes to beat Liverpool, triumphing over the reigning Premier League champions at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Ismaila Sarr broke the deadlock in the ninth minute, and though Liverpool got back level through substitute Federico Chiesa three minutes before the 90 were up, the points stayed in South London as Eddie Nketiah stepped off the bench for Palace to win it in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Teams

Backup goalkeeper Walter Benitez, defender Chadi Riad, as well as midfielders Cheick Doucoure and Caleb Kporha, were unavailable for selection for Palace boss Oliver Glasner.

With Dean Henderson in goal, Liverpool-linked Marc Guehi captained the side from his position the back line, next to Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards. Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada played in the middle of the park, with Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell covering the flanks. Together with goalscorer Sarr, Yeremy Pino supported striker Jean-Philippe Mateta up front.

Meanwhile, Arne Slot in the away dugout was without summer signings Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni, the forward who earned two yellow cards in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton and the teenage defender who will miss the rest of the season through an ACL injury. Midfielder Stefan Bajcetic was injured as well.

Alisson Becker stood between the posts. The centre-back duo of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate was flanked by Milos Kerkez on the left and Conor Bradley on the right. Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai formed the midfield, and in attack, Alexander Isak led the line, with Florian Wirtz starting on the left and Mohamed Salah on the right.

Key moments

From the early stages, Palace took the game to Liverpool. In the 9th minute, Sarr finished from close range after Liverpool failed to deal with a corner properly, putting the hosts ahead and sending Selhurst Park into life.

Palace seized momentum, looking dangerous through set-pieces and transitions. They could have extended their lead many times: Mateta struck the post; there were close chances from Sarr and Pino. Meanwhile, Liverpool looked sluggish defensively and struggled to assert their usual control in midfield.

As the first half wore on, Liverpool’s attacking threats—Isak, Salah, Gakpo—were limited by Palace’s disciplined defensive block and resolute goalkeeping. Alisson made several key saves, preventing the deficit from becoming more severe for the visitors. At the other end, Palace’s back line, especially Guehi and Richards, were effective in denying space in dangerous areas.

In the second half, Liverpool brought on Federico Chiesa, who injected more urgency. Around the 87th minute, a defensive lapse from Palace saw Chiesa slam in the equalizer, much to the relief of the visitors. It looked like Liverpool might snatch a point.

But Palace held firm in stoppage time. From a long throw deep into Liverpool’s box and a flick-on by Guehi, Nketiah, who had come on to replace  volleyed home to make it 2-1 in the dying seconds.

The stadium erupted; the VAR reviewed the goal but it stood. Palace secured a dramatic, deserved victory—their unbeaten run extended, Liverpool’s perfect start ended. The final minutes were tense, but Palace’s defensive resolve and belief in their transitions paid off.

Konate’s night to forget as Real Madrid links persist

No outfield player in a Liverpool shirt covered himself with glory at Selhurst Park, particularly in the first half, but it will surely be a match Ibrahima Konate will not want to look back on.

The French centre-back made mistake after mistake, looking uncharacteristically out of place and allowing Mateta to get the better of him with worrying ease, time and again. What’s more, he was booked in the 26th minute already, and it was a great leap of faith for Slot to keep him on the pitch after the break.

Perhaps the lack options – Joe Gomez played a bad game himself in the Carabao Cup victory over Southampton while Leoni obviously wasn’t available – forced the hand of the Liverpool head coach.

What exactly is the reason behind this poor performance from the 26-year-old, we’ll never know for certain, but constant links with Real Madrid may have played their part. His contract at Anfield expires at the end of the season and the Spanish giants are reportedly hoping to sign him as a free agent.

If that is indeed a factor, Liverpool would do well to either persuade him to sign a new contract as soon as possible, or prepare for his exit by acquiring another high-quality defender in January if possible.

Alisson’s class

No outfield player did, but Alisson was incredible between the posts for Liverpool, sparing his teammates some blushes with several outstanding saves. It’s marvelous to see how he comes out to shorten the angle, spreads himself like a wall, and makes point-blank saves look easy.

The Brazilian denied Palace attackers on a total of five occasions, and it’s quite certain his team would’ve been down by more than one goal by halftime without him.

On the other hand, when the best player on the pitch for one of the teams is the goalkeeper, there’s obviously a lot going wrong for them elsewhere.

Crystal Palace are Liverpool’s Kryptonite

This was the third time Liverpool faced Crystal Palace in 2025, and they haven’t been able to win even once.

Glasner’s team denied Liverpool victory on the final day of last season in the Premier League, though the 1-1 draw in that match did little to dampen the spirits of the already-crowned champions. The two teams then met in the Community Shield, as Palace beat Manchester City to lift the FA Cup, and a penalty shootout settled the contest in their favour. This time, Palace beat Liverpool outright, ending their 100% record in the league and, remarkably enough, breaking into second place in the league table to stare at Liverpool’s back, only three points adrift.

It seems Glasner has found the perfect formula to counter the vast quality of the reigning champions.

That will, however, change if either Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal win their upcoming matches this weekend, against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle, respectively.

One can only imagine what Liverpool and their fans think of the Carabao Cup draw for the next round, where they will face – Crystal Palace.

Next up

But for the time being, Slot won’t have any time to worry about facing Palace again. On Tuesday, his team will travel to Istanbul, where they will seek to build on the triumph over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and on Saturday, a clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge awaits.

Meanwhile, Palace will open their Europa Conference League campaign against Dynamo Kyiv in Lublin, Poland, in the Europa Conference League, and having just beaten one team from the Merseyside, they will try to do it again away to Everton at the end of next week.