Analysis: How Palace Punished Liverpool’s Unravelling Structure

Crystal Palace outshot Liverpool 16-20 but edged xG 2.45 to 2.25

Liverpool’s 2–1 defeat at Selhurst Park might be viewed by some as a rare blip for the reigning Premier League champions. But for me, this was no isolated slip. It exposed real problems in structure, clarity and tactical execution. Crystal Palace came with a defined plan, one they executed with discipline and intensity. Liverpool did not.

I am not looking for scapegoats. I am looking at evidence. The numbers and patterns tell a story of a Liverpool side caught between ideas, unable to assert control, and eventually punished by a team that simply knew what it was doing.

Palace show structure, Liverpool show confusion

In the first half, Crystal Palace were dominant. That word gets overused, but it applies here. Their xG was 1.61 before the break, and by the final whistle, it had climbed to 2.45, according to FotMob. They registered 16 shots, most of them from high-value positions inside the area.

Liverpool, by contrast, posted 2.25 xG from 20 shots, but that number flatters them. The volume was there, but the quality often was not. When you see the shot map, it is clear. Palace’s chances came from cutbacks, balls across the six-yard box, and runners arriving untracked. Liverpool’s, in many cases, came from hopeful strikes or second-phase scraps.