Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers as Federico Chiesa willing but 3 really struggle

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool exited the League Cup at the fourth round stage with a much-changed starting XI fielded by Arne Slot unable to stop Ismaila Sarr from taking control of proceedings.

With a back three to match up with Oliver Glasner's team, Liverpool looked solid enough to start with. Shortly before the break, however, Sarr opened the scoring far too easily. For his second, the Reds' defense parted and left him with an acre of open space to run into and pick out the corner.

Liverpool failed to create much that was even remotely threatening to Walter Benitez's Crystal Palace goal. As much as Federico Chiesa tried, he was often a one-man forward line with others unable to offer much in the way of support.

Winners

Crystal Palace picked a strong team, albeit one with five changes from the weekend, and Oliver Glasner was rewarded for that. Ismaila Sarr loves a goal against Liverpool (he was once on a recruitment shortlist but nothing came of that in the end) and got two more with ease.

For Slot, the switched up formation was a positive to begin with in the sense that it created some sort of stable base to build on, but when Sarr stepped things up, he soon ended up tearing holes in it pretty quickly.

Losers

Liverpool has lost the chance to win a trophy and given it is already behind Arsenal in the Premier League, that isn't ideal. That is not to say that Slot was wrong to make changes, but he selected a starting XI and bench that was going to make things difficult.

As soon as Sarr opened the scoring, any limited feeling of belief that the home crowd had seemed to disappear. In the driving rain, it was always going to be a long way back after going a goal down.

Amara Nallo has now been sent off twice and he didn't need to make the tackle. As soon as he made contact, the referee, Craig Pawson, had no choice.

Player ratings

Freddie Woodman (6). Making his debut for Liverpool, the goalkeeper looked decent enough with his feet and made a couple of comfortable saves. He couldn't do much with the shots that beat him.

Calvin Ramsay (6). Playing for Liverpool for the first time since November 2022, the 22-year-old Scottish full-back looked solid enough defensively, but was limited in his attacking output. He started strongly but tired and some of his passes left much to be desired.

Wataru Endo (6). Sitting on the right of a back three, the Japan captain was solid to begin with. He was one of a few players who got dragged around by Sarr, though, when he danced through to score.

Joe Gomez (6). An experienced head at the back, the number two was the man in the middle. He did well to intercept a couple of crosses but was never overly stretched and should have done better with the opening goal, in particular.

Andy Robertson (6). Playing out of position on the left of the center-backs, the Scotland captain was another relatively solid performer. He wasn't hugely tested, though, and was steady more than spectacular. On a few occasions, he might have done better.

Milos Kerkez (5). In the team presumably because of a lack of other senior defensive options (and perhaps to play him into some kind of form), the Hungary left-back was given a more advanced role. He wasn't really able to make the most of the extra freedom.

Alexis Mac Allister (6). The Argentine has looked below par for much of the start of the season after missing much of the summer through injury, so he needed the minutes here. Fortunate not to be booked around 10 minutes in, he wasn't really able to get a grip of the game with limited options to pass to around and in front of him when he had the ball.

Trey Nyoni (5). The talented England youth international midfielder never looks out of place when he comes into the senior set-up. He wasn't able to dominate things here, though. He was a bit of a passenger.

Kieran Morrison (5). A strong performer for the Liverpool youth teams so far this season, the ex-Manchester United youngster and Northern Ireland youth international is a real talent. He wasn't strong enough a couple of times here, however, and wasn't hugely involved. A tough introduction to the senior game.

Federico Chiesa (6). Given a rare chance to impress, the Italian was made to play as a number nine rather than in his favored wide berth. He was often left doing most of the attacking work on his own, but he chased and worked as hard as he could. With not much around him to help out, there wasn't much he could do.

Rio Ngumoha (6). Hugely exciting at his best, the number 73 was a real livewire down the left side in the early stages. He flashed a shot just wide in the first quarter of an hour but then tailed off as the first half progressed and didn't have many chances to run at his marker in the second half.

Substitutes

Kaide Gordon (6). Sensational at U21 level at the weekend, the 20-year-old forward injected some freshness into the Liverpool attack with his running and pressing. Ultimately, it was never likely to make a huge difference with the Reds two down.

Wellity Lucky (6). The young defender positioned himself well at times but the game was basically done by the time he came on. Decent on the ball and the senior exposure will have done no harm.

Amara Nallo (2). Gave the ball away cheaply and was then sent off for bringing down his man. He just didn't need to make the tackle.