Liverpool manager Arne Slot’s Reds being on the precipice of crisis meant there were plenty of questions heading into their Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace, and those questions only intensified when Slot selected a team that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a U21 match. For one of the world’s top club sides, with a strong squad that saw £400M invested over the summer transfer window, it raised more than a few eyebrows.
Then, kickoff. And, for a time, Liverpool looked good. Surprisingly good, in an unexpected 3-4-3 formation. In the end, though, looking good couldn’t last and so we’re up to six loses from the last seven in all competitions. Let’s dig into it…
Talking Tactics
The big story in the early going was Slot’s choice to deploy an unusual (for Liverpool) formation, a 3-4-3 with Wataru Endo and Andy Robertson joining Joe Gomez in the backline while Alexis Mac Allister and Trey Nyoni were the midfield duo flanked by wingbacks. With Federico Chiesea leading the line it all seemed to be working well enough early, but watching this wholly changed Liverpool side holding their own against a much stronger (on paper at least) Palace left us with two nagging questions.
One being whether Liverpool even have the personnel to play this as a base formation if it somehow worked a treat and led to a victory. And two being whether Liverpool looking better than anyone expected in the early going was a genuinely positive sign for the Reds or just a mirage, a reflection of the fact Palace wouldn’t have prepared for or expected to face a Liverpool side utilizing this shape.
In the end, the latter question turned out to be key, and after Liverpool looked to edge the game early, Palace slowly grew into it and by the 30-minute mark the sides were playing level. Then, as the clock continued to tick on in the first half, level turned into Palace being the ascendant side. The opener came in the 41st minute. For Palace, naturally. It was far too easy for Ismaïla Sarr, left alone in the box when the ball fell to him. He scored again in the 46th to drive the point home. Yeremy Pino padded things with a third in the 88th.
So much for the 3-4-3. Liverpool had confused Palace for a time but, in the end, it was a weakened Liverpool side against a stronger Palace. A side on the precipice of crisis against a side in good form. Once Palace figured it out, it was only a matter of time.
Winners and Losers
Federico Chiesa Remains the Bright Spot
For as long as Liverpool looked like they were in it, Federico Chiesa was the star. He had the first good chance of the match. And the second. Neither were easy, but he made the most of the spaces that were available to him and fought and grafted to create openings for himself and his teammates. He couldn’t do it alone, though, and a key sign that the match was shifting towards Palace was his increasing isolation as the first half wore on.
Arne Slot Waves the White Flag
A lack of options off the bench ensured that when Palace figured out Liverpool’s 3-4-3 look and inevitably scored there would be no reasonable route back for Liverpool, and while that unexpected formation might have given them an edge in the early going, by the time the final whistle blew it very much felt the way it had when the lineups first dropped—namely that this was Arne Slot waving the white flag in the League Cup.
If Liverpool weren’t floundering and instead were still fighting at the top of the table in the Premier League and reiterating their European bonafides one might be tempted to say, well, it’s just the League Cup. As things are shaping up, though, the League Cup might be this side’s most realistic chance at silverware when everything’s said and done. Well, that’s out, now.
Dissecting the Narrative
With Liverpool’s title chances nearly entirely gone in the league after their October collapse, the League Cup might really have been the clearest path to silverware if Liverpool had managed to advance. The priority, though, is never the League Cup for a club like Liverpool. At least not until you hit the semi-final stage, perhaps.
As a result, the loss here probably doesn’t make Slot’s position any more difficult. Six losses in seven, though, is a tough line to read. It’s a tough place for Liverpool and their manager to be in a season where they were hoping to mount a title defence and spent over £400M on bringing in new players over the summer. It’s a tough place to be when Liverpool haven’t looked at their best, really, at any point in 2025—if you judge best in this case to mean vaguely resemble the side that was ripping up trees from August through December of 2024.
That stretch won Liverpool the Premier League last season. They haven’t looked the same since, though each step along the way has in isolation brought with it reasons and justifications for why that might be the case. But we’re here now. And it’s six losses from seven. Dropping down the table in the league seemingly every week. And out of the League Cup with their manager having waved the white flag with the team selection. The day started off with the narrative being that Liverpool had better sort shit out in a hurry. About the most positive thing you can say afterwards is Liverpool had better sort their shit out in a hurry.
What Happens Next
On paper, Aston Villa are the easiest opponent Liverpool get to face ahead of the November international break, with Unai Emery’s side coming to Anfield on Saturday. Currently, the Reds and Villains are level on points in the Premier League, tied for seventh on 15 but with with the Reds one ahead on goal differential.
It’s about where Villa likely hoped and expected to be at this point in the season. It’s not where Liverpool hoped or expected to be. After Villa, Liverpool host Real Madrid in the Champions League and then head on the road to face Manchester City in the league. So. Seems like fun.