Klopp can reuse X-rated Liverpool claim after loss that could mean big change

Verdict from Paul Gorst after Liverpool's shock loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League

Jurgen Klopp can revisit X-rated Liverpool claim after loss that could mean big change behind the scenes

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If the finale of Jurgen Klopp's reign is being referred to as the Last Dance behind the scenes at Liverpool, then this was the week when the music stopped.

And if the Reds manager is searching for inspiration for how he will accurately summarise a first home defeat in the Premier League since October 2022, then he will do worse than to reiterate a phrase first coined nearly nine years ago on Merseyside.

"I can’t forget this f****** loss to Crystal Palace!" fumed Klopp about a November 2015 reverse at Anfield against the Eagles. Back then, his tenure was in its embryonic stages and while clearly vexing, this 1-0 loss - thanks to Eberechi Eze's early goal - will likely become far more infamous in the fullness of time.

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Liverpool have only lost three times at home in the Premier League in front of their fans in seven years and two of them have now come at the hands of the South Londoners. No wonder chairman Steve Parish breezed through Anfield’s mixed zone with a smile as wide as the Mersey tunnel at full time. Who could blame him?

This was arguably the most damaging home defeat for a decade in the Premier League. Not since a much-changed Chelsea pulled up at Anfield and pilfered a 2-0 win to all but end Brendan Rodgers's title hopes in April 2014 have the Reds suffered such a result on home soil that has the potential to career an entire season off track.

Klopp's team failed to capitalise on the opportunity to move back to the summit of the table with six left to negotiate and while it is not yet terminal for those aspirations, only the most blinding of red tints will make anyone a real believer now.

Fresh from a shocking 3-0 defeat to Atalanta on Thursday night to all but end their hopes of Europa League glory, the Reds have had an even more harmful loss inflicted on them here and they only have themselves to blame. Far too often the players made the wrong decision: the passes were loose; the touches were heavy; the groans were loud. And frequent.

Having amassed a league high 27 points from losing positions this term, Liverpool, deep down, will have known they were riding their luck for too long. Their powers of resilience have had to be showcased far too often and when those reserves are needed by the bucketload on a weekly basis, it stands to reason that at some stage they will run dry. Here it was: an empty barrel, being scraped by the sight of Alisson Becker trying to win a flick-on from a free-kick in stoppage time.

Palace took an early lead through Eze after he converted a low cross past the returning Alisson, who was making his first appearance in over two months. It was, quite remarkably, the 21st time in 32 Premier League games that the Reds had conceded first this term and that, above all other statistics, is the biggest indicator for why the title might just prove a step beyond them now.

The Reds, as is now customary, responded well enough, forcing saves from Dean Henderson via efforts from Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, while Wataru Endo rocked the woodwork following a penalty-area melee.

But that response was not a sustained one as the noise levels petered out and the players continued to be guilty of basic errors. The half-time ratings made for particularly grim reading for everyone not named Andy Robertson, whose quality outing was made more conspicuous by the absence of it from his colleagues.

The Scotland captain made a crucial intervention to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta off the line after the striker had streaked clear following a slip from Virgil van Dijk on the halfway line. That should have been the moment Liverpool were jolted from their slumber. It was not.

Substitute Diogo Jota had a glorious chance to restore parity in the second half but his goal-bound effort was blocked by Nathaniel Clyne before Tyrick Mitchell made a timely intervention to keep out a frustrated, peripheral Salah.

Palace defended resolutely as they chased men, tracked runners and threw themselves in the way of what little Liverpool mustered on target in the second period. They deserved this.

Another significant comeback was not to be and having negotiated an injury crisis that has ranged from the unhelpful to the ridiculous across the last four months or so - Conor Bradley was another player forced off here - the worry is that they have run themselves to a standstill at the precise wrong time.

A squad who have admirably made light of their punishing list of absentees for so long is now feeling the effects. It's the hangover from hell and many of those returning to help out understandably look less than 100%.

There might still be twists and turns over the next month but it now looks ominous for a Liverpool team out on their feet. Klopp's players look like a squad who have plateaued and are on the comedown from the high of winning the League Cup back in late February.

The emotional heft required just to get through every game has seemingly proven too heavy to carry any further. The Last Dance has become a sombre, exhausted waltz of missteps. “F****** Crystal Palace” indeed.

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