Analysis: Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace set up in the same 4-4-2 structure used in their victory over Fulham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Their in-possession structure looked more like a 4-2-4 or even a 2-4-4, as the full-backs joined the deep central-midfield pairing of Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur on the second line. Given the threat posed by Liverpool forwards Sadio Mane and Mo Salah in behind and through the spaces between their full-backs and centre-backs, this was a risky ploy.

The front four of Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and Jeffrey Schlupp displayed a definite element of fluidity to their game – there were several instances when the two centre forwards, Zaha and Benteke, would split wide while Townsend and Schlupp moved inside. It was also fairly common for this quartet to play narrow, which then triggered one of the full-backs, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Patrick van Aanholt, to surge forward and provide an outlet in wide areas.

They tended to rely on the pace and power of Zaha and Benteke to trouble their opponents’ defence, but on occasion would attempt to play their way out from the back. McArthur and Milivojevic, however, too often received in positions that offered only a backwards pass; as a result, they rarely bypassed Liverpool’s press in this way.

On the few instances they did enjoy success in building from deep, the position of Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins, the two centre-backs, was key. If the pair played on a different vertical line to their central midfielders, one of Liverpool’s midfield three would close down Milivojevic or McArthur. From here, the midfielder in possession had the opportunity to set the ball back to their defenders for a penetrative pass through the newly formed passing channel.

Palace formed a rigid 4-4-2 mid-block structure out of possession, and tried to ensure they had consistent vertical and horizontal compactness. They were content in allowing their opponents to have the ball in front of them – and Liverpool had to play with patience. When Alexander Sorloth replaced Benteke in the 70th minute, they tended to show the Reds to one side of the pitch. Zaha set out to push the visitors towards the touchline, while Sorloth would man-mark fellow substitute Jordan Henderson in an attempt to prevent the natural central overload that comes when a 4-4-2 has to defend against a 4-3-3.

Once Wan-Bissaka was shown red for a foul on Salah outside the box, there was little hope of the Eagles fighting their way to a point. It was a tireless performance from Roy Hodgson’s players, but despite carving a few openings on goal they were simply second best to a team starting the season in ominous form.