Arne Slot’s Reds made the journey to South London on Saturday afternoon for the lunchtime kickoff (Jürgen’s favorite). The boss made several changes following Wednesday’s Champions League victory at Anfield over Bologna, with Kostas Tsimikas replacing Andy Robertson at left back and Dominik Szoboszlai making way for Curtis Jones in midfield. Caoimhín Kelleher missed the journey south due to illness, and while this may have seemed like a non-issue when the teams were released prior to kickoff, I can assure you that it would soon become very much an issue. The sun was shining, the traveling Kop filled, Simon Hooper practiced his gestures for giving free kicks to Palace, I settled into the front seat of a rental car with a laptop in the middle of the Hawaiian night, and away we went.
The game started just about as poorly as one could imagine, with Eddie Nketiah putting the ball in Alisson’s net with a delightful little chip just 24 seconds into the game. Luckily for the Reds and my sanity, Nketiah had strayed well offside, and the linesman’s flag halted Palace celebrations before they could begin. This warning shot seemingly woke Liverpool, who responded with sustained pressure of their own in the early stages. Thankfully, this pressure resulted in the first (and only) goal of the afternoon, beginning with the instep of Kostas Tsimikas’ left boot. As the ball recycled, and Virgil played a square ball to Kostas in the Palace half, Cody Gakpo made a perfectly timed run from the left wing, getting in behind the Palace right-back, who had been caught momentarily ball-watching. The movement was identical to the run Gakpo made for the opener in the 7-nil slaughter of Ten Hag’s United; however, instead of cutting onto his right and shooting, on this occasion, the Dutchman elected to fire a low cross into the area with his left foot. Diogo Jota made a brilliant run across the face of a floundering Trevoh Chalobah, and the Portuguese was able to toe-poke the cross through the legs of Palace keeper Dean Henderson. While Jota’s celebration (which looked more like Hull’s ‘you’re getting mauled by the Tigers’ than anything resembling climbing a ladder) left a significant amount to be desired, the Reds were 1-nil to the good, and all was right in the world.
As the half wore on, the pressure from the Redmen remained ever-present. The Liverpool midfield seized firm control of the game, primarily through the work of Ryan Gravenberch, who has the knack of making the incredibly difficult look absurdly simple. Dean Henderson was forced into action on several occasions across the opening 45 minutes to keep the scoreline at 1-nil, and apart from a late Palace opportunity saved by the sprawling right hand of Alisson, the visitors never really posed a significant threat in the opening half. We went into the break at 1-nil, unlucky not to be ahead by a larger margin, but satisfied all the same.
If the first half was successful in building your confidence and reassurance that a second goal was coming and we’d have a comfortable afternoon, then the second half was not going to be an enjoyable experience for you. Palace managed to steadily play themselves back into the game, as shots on target testing Alisson continued to mount. Thankfully, the big, beautiful Brazilian dealt with these moments considerably well; however, his afternoon was about to meet a premature demise. Upon firing a ball out of play with his left foot, the Brazilian crumpled to the floor in obvious frustration, taking off his gloves and slamming them in the process. I love Alisson Becker with all my soul, and if I could rip the hamstring from my own leg and give it to him, I would, because my God, that man’s hammies are made of dental floss. I suspect he’ll miss several matches, even with the international break—but not to get too far ahead of ourselves; there were still 20+ minutes left, and our trusted Irish deputy was sitting in Liverpool—so who did we have to turn to?
Vítězslav Jaros, the Czech international who spent last year on loan at SK Sturm Graz in Austria, was thrust into his Liverpool debut. Jaros has been in the Liverpool youth system since 2017, and while he put together a great campaign in Austria last season, helping lead the Sturm Graz side to their first league title in 14 years, I would be flat-out lying if I said I was confident in clinging to the 1-nil lead; especially given the flow of the game. The Palace pressure continued; however, with the Eagles pushing for the equalizer, space was beginning to open for Liverpool to exploit. Despite several golden opportunities to finish the game off, the ball simply would not go in. Palace’s last great chance came with about 5 minutes left in the 90, with the Reds being caught embarrassingly short at the back and JP Mateta leading what essentially became a 3v1 break. Mateta found Eze to his left, and as I prepared to watch Jaros’ net ripple and my anxiety and rage skyrocket, the Czech simply caught and smothered Eze’s goal-bound effort. What a hero—never in doubt. The match mercifully ended, and my sanity and happiness were preserved.
While we welcome another absolutely shameless money grab from FIFA for the impending international break, the Reds are top of the league—can’t complain about that. If you had told me in July that we’d win 6 of our first 7 and sit atop the table after Matchweek 7, I’d have been ecstatic. And while the schedule will become significantly more difficult following the break, I’m excited and optimistic to see what the future holds. In the words of Jürgen, “let’s give it a proper try.” Up the pissboiling Reds, talk to you all soon.
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