Three Points, a Welcome Lift and Plenty Still for Iraola to Fix

Selhurst Park Delivered the Result Iraola Needed

We will take it. After a week that brought defeat to Arsenal and another in Istanbul against Fenerbahce, Liverpool needed something solid to carry into the international break, and a 3-1 win away at Crystal Palace is exactly that. Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak got the goals.

That said, our take is that nobody should pretend this was a complete performance. Palace arrived 19th in the table, having shipped nine goals across three straight league defeats, and yet they still found enough openings to make us nervous. Eddie Nketiah’s penalty deep into stoppage time spoiled the clean sheet, and on another afternoon Palace could have had more.

Andoni Iraola rotated heavily after Turkey, making five changes. Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Isak all came back into the front line, Bradley Barcola got the nod over Rio Ngumoha, and Dominik Szoboszlai kept his place in midfield with Trey Nyoni starting on the bench.

A Fast Start, Then the Familiar Wobbles

The opening was bright. Mac Allister had a shot away within 17 seconds and soon threatened again with his head.

Then Palace settled and began picking at the same weakness we have been talking about for weeks: what happens when the first wave of pressure is bypassed. Yeremy Pino rattled the crossbar, and Jorgen Strand Larsen thought he had scored before the flag went up for offside.

The breakthrough arrived five minutes before the interval, and it came from a set piece. Szoboszlai whipped in a free kick from a wide position and Mac Allister met it with another well-timed header. Given how much criticism the Hungarian has taken lately, it was a useful reminder that his delivery still carries real value.

Wirtz Finally Gets His League Goal

The most encouraging part of the afternoon, for us, came after the break. Iraola swapped his wide men around at half time and it paid off within nine minutes, when Barcola picked out Wirtz and the German slotted home his first Premier League goal of the season. His creative work has deserved that reward for a while.

Even at 2-0, though, Liverpool never looked fully secure. Jérémy Jacquet gave the ball away cheaply and only an important stop from Alisson kept Pino out. Once again the Brazilian bailed out the men in front of him, and that dependence on our goalkeeper whenever opponents play through the press is something Iraola has to solve.

Isak eventually settled it in the 90th minute, finishing off a counter attack after earlier wasting a decent chance. Wirtz provided the assist to cap an influential display. It was Isak’s eighth goal of the campaign, already double what he managed last season, and that kind of reliability up front gives the head coach a genuine focal point to build around.

Palace’s consolation came late on, when Milos Kerkez gave away a penalty and Nketiah beat Alisson from the spot.

What It Means Heading Into the Break

So where does that leave us? With three points, a much-needed lift in confidence and goals for two of the players we most need firing.

But if Palace, in their current state, could carve out this many chances, then the protection in midfield and the spacing at the back are still very much works in progress. Iraola has a fortnight to work on it before Manchester United come to Anfield, and that game will be a far sterner test of whether this result marked a turning point or simply a welcome breather.