Liverpool’s season had been a balancing act between brilliance and collapse, rescued time and again by late goals that fed the belief this team was destined for something special under Arne Slot. But under the Selhurst Park floodlights on a cold September evening, their luck finally deserted them. Crystal Palace, written off before a ball was kicked this year, struck in stoppage time through Eddie Nketiah — the ultimate poacher — to shatter Liverpool’s run of last-gasp miracles with a last-gasp heartbreak.
From the opening whistle, Liverpool looked unsettled. Slot lost his composure early, earning a yellow card for berating the officials, and his players reflected that same unease. Palace pressed relentlessly, snapping into tackles, winning second balls, and attacking with conviction. The Reds, by contrast, looked disjointed, their new big-money signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak struggling badly. Wirtz was stifled in midfield, unable to influence the game, while Isak was left stranded up front, feeding on scraps. The flowing football Liverpool fans had grown used to under Klopp, and hoped to see continued, never materialised.
Even Mohamed Salah looked a shadow of himself. Slower, less decisive, and unable to beat his man, he carried the air of a star edging past his prime. Palace smelled vulnerability. Eze, Olise, and Anthony combined with flair, while Richards and Guéhi marshalled their defence with authority. Palace weren’t simply hanging on — they were imposing their game.
Liverpool somehow survived until half-time, but the warning signs were glaring. As he had done before, Slot looked to Federico Chiesa to rescue them. And the Italian did just that, punishing a lapse from Chris Richards to equalise, silencing Selhurst and giving Liverpool hope that their escape act was still alive. Even a VAR check for handball against Salah couldn’t deny them. Slot roared on the touchline; the story seemed set for another great comeback.
But football twists cruelly. Deep into stoppage time, with Liverpool stretched, Nketiah pounced. One strike, no hesitation, past Donnarumma — and Selhurst erupted. Slot raged at the fourth official, but the whistle blew moments later. Palace had their moment of glory; Liverpool had their reality check.
The defeat was about more than dropped points. Slot’s tactical tweaks looked confused, his system disjointed, and his stars underwhelming. Chiesa’s brilliance could only paper over so much. Fans voiced frustrations online — questioning Salah’s decline, Isak’s price tag, and Slot’s stubborn persistence. The aura of invincibility Liverpool had built early in the season evaporated in an instant.
Palace, meanwhile, celebrated a night that will live long in their memory. For Liverpool, it was a reckoning: a reminder that luck runs out, and systems and performances must stand up to scrutiny. They left Selhurst bruised and battered, their season’s narrative flipped from destiny to doubt.
This was more than Nketiah’s winner. It was the symbolic end of Liverpool’s streak, the night the cracks could no longer be ignored, and the moment Slot’s honeymoon period truly ended.
