Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Crystal Palace as Szoboszlai good but 6 struggle

SELHURST PARK, SOUTH LONDON // Eddie Nketiah scored with the last kick of the game as Liverpool fell to a late defeat at Crystal Palace despite Federico Chiesa's equalizer.

Liverpool had not been behind in a Premier League game this season before, but Crystal Palace soon changed that here. Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring inside nine minutes when the ball dropped invitingly for him from a corner and Oliver Glasner's men should have been out of sight by half-time.

Slot changed his formation at the break, though, and things looked up for Liverpool, but the Reds struggled to find the goal they needed. In the end, Crystal Palace, given it should have scored more than one when it was on top, wasn't made to pay, but required some late heroics from its number nine.

Winners

By offering a more natural option on the left wing, Cody Gakpo showed his importance, even if he wasn't always that involved in the game. His introduction gave Liverpool much more balance and there is no doubt that he will be in the team on Tuesday. Luis Diaz would have provided width and an outball last season. Until Gakpo was brought on here, Liverpool was really lacking that.

Losers

The entire Liverpool team was poor in the first half, but Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley were especially bad. Neither could find a pass, with the pairing gifting chances to the opposition and looking like they had no idea what to do with the Crystal Palace attackers running at them. The change of formation caused a problem, but individual performances were poor too.

Player ratings

Alisson Becker (7). He was far busier than he would have liked to be in the early stages of the game and effectively kept Liverpool in the contest. The game would have been done by half-time if it wasn't for the Brazilian.

Conor Bradley (3). After Jeremie Frimpong was disappointing in the League Cup midweek, this was a chance to stake a claim, but the 22-year-old started very badly. He was beaten defensively and couldn't find a pass. When he didn't emerge for the second half, it wasn't a shock.

Ibrahima Konate (5). He was all over the place in the first half. The Frenchman conceded possession easily, was being run ragged by Jean-Philippe Mateta, and was booked for a blatant pull on the Crystal Palace striker. To give him credit, he was much improved after the break.

Virgil van Dijk (6). The best of the Liverpool defenders, but that wasn't a great accolade. The Dutchman was despairing at what was going on around him, but he couldn't do much to stem the flow on his own.

Milos Kerkez (6). Up against Sarr, the Hungarian was always going to need to be on his game. He was mixed defensively first half and had nothing in front of him with Wirtz coming inside so much. He was left stranded on his own. Second half, he looked much better.

Ryan Gravenberch (6). The best player in the league this season, Gravenberch was crowded out here in a congested middle third. He needed options out wide, but they just weren't there before half-time. He was able to find his groove much more afterwards.

Alexis Mac Allister (5). It was a real struggle for anyone to get any kind of time on the ball in the middle of the field, with Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada shutting everything down. The Argentine didn't really get into things and was booked for dissent.

Dominik Szoboszlai (7). Arguably alongside Gravenberch in terms of his level this season, he was a decent performer in midfield and then switched to right-back halfway through. He gave everything and didn't stop running.

Mohamed Salah (5). Playing on the right, he spent most of his time in the middle where he just couldn't create things for those around him. He was frustrated and lifted a cross dismally into the crowd in the first half.

Alexander Isak (6). Making his first start in the Premier League, the Swede hardly had a kick before half-time. He was much more involved after and should have scored a good chance, even though a couple of defenders were putting him under pressure.

Florian Wirtz (5). On paper, he looked like he would be stationed on the left flank rather than his usual central berth, but that didn't really materialize until the half-time changes. Before the system was reverted back, he was almost anywhere but the left. All that meant was Liverpool having no width, but he looked much more comfortable when Arne Slot altered his role.

Substitutes

Cody Gakpo (6). On at half-time, the Dutch winger offered some much-needed width. He linked quite nicely with Isak and Wirtz.

Curtis Jones (6). Lively when he came on. Injected a bit of urgency into the midfield department and kept things ticking with Crystal Palace penned in.

Jeremie Frimpong (5). Injected some more pace into the final third for Liverpool but let the ball slip under his foot and go out for a throw at one stage. Not ideal.

Federico Chiesa (7). The Italian impressed midweek against Southampton and made another positive impact here. Booked for a late tackle shortly after coming on., he finished coolly when he got the chance.