sports
Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 to pile pressure on Sage
Liverpool moved up to fourth with a comfortable win at Selhurst Park while Crystal Palace stayed bottom of the Premier League.
Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday, a result that lifted Liverpool into the top four and left Palace bottom of the Premier League, BBC Sport reported.
Liverpool scored three times in the second half. Palace managed a consolation goal deep in stoppage time from a penalty. The margin could have been wider. Liverpool hit the post and had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside.
Palace manager Oliver Sage is now the favorite to be the first Premier League sacking of the season. His team has one win from 11 matches and has scored fewer goals than any club in the division.
What the coverage missed
The scoreline says 3-1. The performance said 3-0 or 4-0. Palace did not register a shot on target until the 87th minute. The penalty they scored in stoppage time was their first attempt on goal in the entire second half.
Liverpool were not brilliant. They were competent. That was enough. Arne Slot’s team has hit a groove where they win without needing to be at their best, and that is what good teams do in November. The title race is not over, but Liverpool are positioned to stay in it.
Palace’s problems are structural, not managerial in the narrow sense. Sage was hired late in the summer, did not get the transfer window he wanted, and inherited a squad that lost its best player. But managers do not get sympathy in the Premier League. The board will act before December if the next two results go against them, because the gap to 17th is already four points and widening.
What I think
Sage is not the root cause, but he is the one who will pay. That is how this league works. Palace have been underfunded and poorly run for two years, and the manager takes the fall for decisions made above him.
Liverpool are the quieter story and the more interesting one. Slot has them fourth, playing well, and nobody is talking about them. That suits him. The fixtures over the next month are favorable. If they are within two points of the lead at Christmas, they are in the race.