Crystal Palace’s 3-0 victory in the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday further exacerbated the already dire situation at Anfield, sending Liverpool crashing out of the competition. Arne Slot’s team suffered their sixth loss in their past seven games in all competitions after Ismaila Sarr scored twice in the first half and Yeremy Pino scored the third. In order to focus on Liverpool’s important matches against Aston Villa, Real Madrid, and Manchester City over the following two weeks, Slot started a smaller squad. However, it was yet another humiliating outcome for Liverpool, which severely damaged their faltering Premier League championship defense as they lost 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday.
The Reds are now seven points behind league leaders Arsenal after losing their previous four games.
“It’s not Liverpool standards to lose six out of seven,” Slot stated. “But there are just two days left to rest, play the next game, rest for another two days, play Real Madrid, and then play for Man City for a few more days.
“Everyone is free to disagree, but given the squad we have, which consists of perhaps 15–16 first team players, this is the decision I made.
“The pressure was already very high for the upcoming week where we again have to face three very difficult teams.”
Liverpool’s decline has been breathtaking, as they have been criticized for their defensive shortcomings and the subpar play of their expensive summer acquisitions Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.
Slot made ten changes and started teenagers Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha, and Trey Nyoni in place of Isak, Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk.
The risk never seemed to pay off, and in the last 80 days, FA Cup winners Palace have already triumphed three times over Liverpool.
They defeated the Reds 2-1 in the Premier League and on penalties in the Community Shield.
Slot tried to rejuvenate Liverpool by switching to a back three, but the move backfired as Sarr scored from 12 yards out in the 41st minute after Joe Gomez made a mistake.
Sarr, a Senegal winger, scored from Pino’s pass in front of the stunned Kop just before halftime to extend Palace’s lead.
Amara Nallo, a Liverpool substitute, was sent off for a professional foul on Justin Devenny in the 79th minute.
In the 88th minute, Pino scored Palace’s third goal to secure a trip to Arsenal for the round of eight.
The Man City panic is over.
Holders Newcastle defeated Tottenham 2-0 at St. James’ Park to force Fulham to visit in the quarterfinals.
Newcastle’s first goal was headed by Fabian Schar from a corner kick by Sandro Tonali in the 24th minute, and the second goal was nodded in by Nick Woltemade from a cross by Jacob Ramsey in the 50th minute.
Manchester City secured a quarterfinal matchup against Brentford at home after rallying from a 3-1 deficit to defeat second-tier Swansea.
Goncalo Franco’s strike in the 12th minute put City down, despite having made 10 changes since their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa the previous week.
However, Omar Marmoush scored in the 77th minute, Rayan Cherki’s stoppage-time goal completed the comeback, and Jeremy Doku’s deflection goal pulled City even in the 39th.
Arsenal defeated Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium to record their eighth straight victory across all competitions. The team hasn’t won the League Cup since 1993.
With 14 minutes left, Bukayo Saka scored from close range, and Ethan Nwaneri hammered into the bottom corner in the 57th minute.
Max Dowman, who is only 15 years and 302 days old, became the youngest player to start for Arsenal in history. Manager Mikel Arteta commented, “It’s definitely something special.”
“He has shown incredible skill to run past players at that level aged 15.”
After the Blues’ understudies defeated struggling Wolves 4-3, Chelsea will travel to third-tier Cardiff in the round of eight.
Toluwalase Arokodare and David Wolfe, who each scored twice, responded for Wolves, while Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, Estevao Willian, and Jamie Gittens scored for Chelsea.
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