Liverpool’s unbeaten run was always going to end one day, but nobody thought it would happen this way, at Selhurst Park, under the lights, against a Crystal Palace side that refused to bow down. The Reds arrived in London with confidence, a team that had survived difficult moments and always found a way, but this time the miracle never came. Instead, the miracle belonged to the home side. Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah wrote their names into Palace history as they handed Arne Slot his first defeat in charge of Liverpool.
The build up had been all about Liverpool’s streak. Seventeen games unbeaten in all competitions, a new manager carrying the weight of Jurgen Klopp’s legacy, expensive signings brought in to transform the team, and a fanbase dreaming of titles again. But football has a way of breaking illusions. At Selhurst Park, reality came crashing down.
From the very first whistle, Palace showed no fear. They pressed, they attacked, they forced Liverpool back, and within minutes, Alisson was already the busiest man on the pitch. Liverpool were supposed to be the hunters, but instead they were the hunted. The warning signs were there, and yet Liverpool didn’t respond. When the opening goal came, it felt inevitable.
A corner swung in, chaos in the Liverpool box, Ryan Gravenberch tried to clear but instead sent the ball straight into danger. Ismaila Sarr pounced, smashing it home from close range. The stadium exploded. Palace had the lead and deserved it. Replays later showed that the corner should never have been given, that the officials had made a mistake, but none of that mattered to the red and blue shirts celebrating on the pitch. Liverpool were stunned, their unbeaten run now under real threat.
What followed was twenty minutes of Alisson Becker against Crystal Palace. The Brazilian goalkeeper, the man who has saved Liverpool countless times in the past, once again stood tall. He denied Yeremy Pino, then Daniel Muñoz, then Jean-Philippe Mateta in quick succession. Each save more spectacular than the last, each one keeping Liverpool alive. Without him, the game would have been finished before half-time. He dived low, he spread himself wide, he clawed shots out of the air like a man possessed. Liverpool’s outfield players were falling apart, but their goalkeeper was holding them together with his bare hands.
In the second half, it was more of the same. Palace came again, Mateta breaking through for a one-on-one. Alisson rushed out, spread himself, and blocked. The flag went up for offside, but Alisson didn’t know. He saved as if his life depended on it. He was the only Liverpool player who looked like he belonged on that pitch.