Liverpool walked into Selhurst Park with the confidence of champions, unbeaten, ruthless, and feared, but they walked out with pain in their hearts, with questions on their manager, and with doubts now creeping into a season that had been filled with belief. Arne Slot’s Liverpool finally tasted defeat, and the way it came felt like the universe mocking them. For weeks, Liverpool had been the kings of late drama, the masters of last-minute goals, the team that refused to die. But against Crystal Palace, the script was flipped. Federico Chiesa had given the Reds hope with a late equaliser, but just when fans thought they had escaped with another draw, Eddie Nketiah struck in the 97th minute to hand Palace a victory that felt like a dagger in the chest of every Liverpool supporter watching. The champions were humbled in the same manner they had humbled others, and the message was loud: this title race will not be easy.
For Slot, the night was full of lessons, painful ones. His Liverpool side had been praised for their fighting spirit, for integrating new stars like Chiesa, Isak, and Wirtz into a squad still haunted by the shadow of Jurgen Klopp. But at Selhurst Park, all the weaknesses that had been whispered about suddenly stood in the spotlight. The defence looked shaky, the midfield couldn’t control Palace’s intensity, and for once, luck wasn’t on Liverpool’s side. Palace didn’t just win; they exposed flaws that fans have been worried about for weeks.
The match itself was chaotic. Palace started like a team possessed, tearing into Liverpool with energy and aggression. Jean-Philippe Mateta gave Ibrahima Konaté nightmares in the first half, bullying him, pressing him, dragging him into uncomfortable positions. Micah Richards, watching from the BBC studio, couldn’t hide his concern. “Konaté is starting to worry me,” Richards said. “We know he and Van Dijk have been a good partnership, but right now his errors are making the backline nervous. Liverpool don’t usually look like this.” Alan Shearer went even further. “They were all over the place. Palace ripped them apart in the first half. If it wasn’t for Alisson, Liverpool would’ve been four or five down at half-time.”
That’s the truth. If not for Alisson Becker, Liverpool’s humiliation would have been worse. The Brazilian pulled off world-class saves to keep the scoreline respectable, but even he couldn’t stop the feeling that Palace had Liverpool on the ropes. By the time Chiesa equalised late on, it felt like Liverpool had once again pulled off the impossible. But football is cruel. Nketiah’s winner shattered the illusion. Palace deserved it, and Slot himself admitted it. “Palace could have been up by two or three in the first half,” Slot said. “We were lucky Alisson kept us in it. The second half was better, but conceding another set-piece in the end was disappointing.”
The defeat was made worse by controversy. Chiesa’s equaliser came after a scramble where Mohamed Salah was accused of handling the ball. Palace defender Chris Richards was furious. He felt robbed, and after the game, he posted online, insisting he had seen the handball. “I knew I wasn’t seeing things,” he wrote, using the hashtag #Justice. VAR checked the goal but claimed there was no conclusive evidence to overturn it. Palace fans felt cheated, but in the end, Nketiah’s dramatic strike meant justice, in their eyes, was served anyway.
For Liverpool, though, the VAR drama hides the real problem. Slot’s defence is leaking confidence. Without Giovanni Leoni, who is out for the season, the squad feels fragile. Konaté is struggling for consistency, Gomez is unsettled and being linked with Milan, and even Van Dijk, the great general, cannot cover every mistake. It is not the Liverpool backline of old, the one that suffocated opponents. Instead, teams are beginning to believe they can get at them, and Palace proved it.
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The timing of the loss could not be worse. Liverpool had been building momentum, silencing critics, and showing Slot might really have the magic touch. Every late win had built their aura stronger. But this defeat has opened cracks, and the questions are rushing in. Can this team really challenge City and Arsenal if their defence looks this shaky? Can Konaté rediscover his best form, or is his confidence too damaged? And can Slot steady the ship before the doubts spread through the dressing room?
The spotlight is also falling on Liverpool’s new signings. Alexander Isak was given his first league start, with Hugo Ekitike suspended, and Florian Wirtz was restored to the starting XI. Both showed flashes but couldn’t change the game. Fans are still waiting for Isak to explode in the Premier League, and Wirtz, though talented, is still adjusting to English football. These are early days, but the defeat means the pressure on them grows heavier.
The atmosphere after the match was one of frustration. Liverpool players knew they had let it slip, not just because of the last-minute goal but because of how they started. Slot’s side has made a habit of starting slow and finishing strong, but that can’t always work. Palace punished their sloppiness from the first whistle, and in truth, it could have been over by half-time. The manager admitted as much, showing honesty that fans will appreciate, but honesty alone won’t fix the issues. Action will.
For the supporters, this defeat will sting because of what it represents. Under Klopp, Liverpool built an identity of resilience, of refusing to be beaten. Slot has carried that spirit, but the Palace game showed what happens when the fight runs out. Palace gave Liverpool a taste of their own medicine, and that is the kind of defeat that lingers in the mind. It will either inspire a reaction or expose deeper flaws.
Outside voices are already circling. Pundits are questioning Konaté. Critics are pointing at VAR. Opposition fans are mocking the champions. Palace are flying high, now unbeaten in 18 games under Oliver Glasner, and their victory puts them in the top three. Liverpool, meanwhile, are left licking their wounds, still near the top but no longer untouchable. The aura of invincibility has cracked.
The story of this defeat is not just about one bad night; it is about what it means for the weeks ahead. Slot must rebuild confidence in his backline. He must find a way to get the best from Konaté, protect Van Dijk from being overloaded, and hope that Alisson can keep performing miracles. He must also find balance in attack, because while Liverpool can score, relying on late goals every week is dangerous. The Palace loss proved that sometimes the clock runs out.
This is Liverpool’s first defeat of the season, but it feels heavier than that. It feels like a warning. A warning that this title race will punish mistakes, that rivals are ready to exploit any weakness, and that Slot still has much work to do. For all the praise he has received, for all the excitement around new signings, football is judged on results, and this one leaves a mark.
Liverpool will bounce back, no doubt. They are too strong, too experienced, too talented not to. But the defeat at Selhurst Park will live in memory, not because of the scoreline, but because of what it revealed. It revealed a defence that can be rattled. It revealed a reliance on Alisson that is dangerous. It revealed that for all their attacking flair, the foundation of this team is not yet solid. And it revealed that in the chaos of the Premier League, even champions can fall when they least expect it.
The coming weeks will decide if this is just a blip or the start of cracks widening. Slot knows the questions are coming, and only results will answer them. For Liverpool fans, the pain of this loss will be hard to take, but maybe, just maybe, it is the wake-up call the team needed before the season’s real battles begin.
