Wasteful Liverpool suffer major title blow as Jamie Carragher labels Arsenal and Man City ‘a completely different level’

The Reds entered the match third in the table and knew a win would take them back to the top ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal.

A home clash against Palace, who hadn’t won in the league since February, spelled the perfect opportunity to take advantage.

However, despite having an abundance of chances in front of goal, Liverpool failed to capitalise and fell to a 1-0 defeat.

Eberechi Eze’s composed finish on 14 minutes was all Palace needed to seal a crucial victory in their hopes of avoiding a relegation scrap.

It could very well have been 2-0 but Jean-Philippe Mateta’s chip was heroically cleared off the line by Andy Robertson.

Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones would both later miss huge chances to draw Liverpool level in what was one of their worst performances of the season.

And Reds legend Carragher wasn’t shy to criticise them, saying on Sky Sports: “The finishing for Liverpool has been absolutely shocking.”

With City still top and Arsenal set to leapfrog them if they beat Aston Villa, the Reds could soon slip away from the title race.

Their competitors have been more impressive of late, and Carragher added: “This hasn’t looked like the performance of a title-winning team.

“You think of the form Man City and Arsenal are in now, it’s a completely different level to Liverpool.”

Jones’ chance in particular was a glaring miss, with the midfielder putting his shot wide when one-on-one with Dean Henderson.

Liverpool had 21 shots in total against Palace but only six of those were on target, with Palace making the most of one of their eight efforts.

It’s the second time in a week that the Reds have been beaten at Anfield following a 3-0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League.

They have also extended their winless run to three games in all competitions as their hopes of more silverware begin to fade.

Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa pose tough tests for them in the title race run-in, with Jurgen Klopp now in his final weeks as manager.

Liverpool now know that it is out of their hands as City lead them via two points and Arsenal with one.

The latter will extend that to four though with a win over Villa as this season’s title race proving to be one for the ages.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *