Palace deal huge blow to Liverpool's title hopes with win at Anfield

Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes took a significant hit as they suffered a crushing 1-0 defeat at Anfield against Crystal Palace.

The visitors made an impressive start to the game and were rewarded with the opener in the 12th minute. 

A mix of lacklustre defending from Liverpool and great attacking move by Palace players, ended with Tyrick Mitchell picking out Eberechi Eze, who had plenty of space in the box and calmly tapped the ball home.

Moments later, Jean Mateta came close to double Palace's lead as he cleverly chipped the ball over an on-rushing Alisson, but a superb clearance from Andy Robertson on the goal line denied him.

The Reds gradually found their rhythm and came close to equalising midway through the first half with two excellent opportunities. 

Firstly, Wataru Endo struck the crossbar from a corner, followed by a fine save from Dean Henderson to deny Luis Diaz just seconds later.

Jurgen Klopp made some changes early in the second half and they created some chances, but despite their efforts, they struggled to assert dominance over the Eagles.

Ten minutes into the second half, Darwin Nunez had a golden opportunity from a corner as the ball fell kindly to him, but his powerful strike was brilliantly saved by Henderson.

The Mersysiders started to collect chances towards the end and substitute Diogo Jota came close, only to have his shot superbly blocked by Nathaniel Clyne.

In the subsequent attack, the Eagles threatened to score, but a remarkable instinctive save from Alisson denied Jean Mateta's close-range effort and kept the Reds in the game.

During a frantic 180-second spell, Jurgen Klopp's men had another huge chance to equalise as Curtis Jones found himself one-on-one with Henderson, but the midfielder's attempt narrowly missed the far post.

In added time, Liverpool's final chance came when Mohamed Salah connected with a well-placed ball into the box, but his effort was crucially blocked by Mitchell.

With this result, the Reds missed the chance to to reclaim the top position in the Premier League table and they now sit in third place, trailing leaders Manchester City by two points, while Palace have climbed to 14th, now eight points clear of the relegation zone.