Crystal Palace don’t get the lucky breaks against Premier League leaders Liverpool – as VAR works against them for the first time this season

CRYSTAL PALACE 1
Zaha 82
LIVERPOOL 2
Mane 49 Firmino 85

BY SAM SMITH AT SELHURST PARK

When you face the league leaders – and a side who have beaten you in six of the previous seven meetings – you need some luck.

Crystal Palace had none of that against Liverpool. If it was not the video assistant referee [VAR] harshly denying James Tomkins the opening goal, it was Vicente Guaita appearing to make an excellent save from Sadio Mane – only for the ball to hit the post and spin agonisingly over the goal-line.

If not that, it was Wilfried Zaha firing in an equaliser, only for a below-par Liverpool to go up the other end and score again almost immediately.

If that was not enough, Joel Ward was forced off yet again through injury and Martin Kelly is the only other Palace player capable of filling in should the right-back miss Saturday’s game against Burnley.

It is true that the best sides often create their own luck. There is a notable pattern of this Liverpool team under-performing in individual matches but still coming out on top. That was the case against Sheffield United earlier this season when goalkeeper Dean Henderson spilled Giorginio Wijnaldum’s late effort into his own net. They were also awarded a dubious penalty in the closing stages of a victory against Leicester City.

And, here at Selhurst Park, that recent history was repeated. Palace were the better side in the first half, both in attack and in defence. Gary Cahill had seen a looping header bounce off the top of the crossbar. Zaha and Jordan Ayew had both come close.

Eagles fans had been begging Roy Hodgson to take the game to an opponent after his side stood off against Chelsea before the international break and ultimately being defeated having offered only a single shot on target – a late James McCarthy pea-roller. Hodgson responded by answering the pleas of the supporters.

Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled against the trickery and speed of Zaha, someone the England full-back has previously singled out as the toughest opponent in his fledgling career. It was the 21-year-old who fouled the Ivorian in the build-up to the game’s most contentious moment.

Luka Milivojevic’s resultant free-kick was flicked on inadvertently by Wijnaldum and Tomkins headed into the net having run unmarked to the back post. A lengthy check by Chris Kavanagh at the VAR hub in Stockley Park adjudged Ayew to have fouled Dejan Lovren.

In reality, the Ghanaian had instinctively raised his hands as he changed direction in an attempt to head the ball. His forearm nudged the Croatian, but it was hardly any more than that.

There is a sense in a world where VAR is now so prominent that defenders know they are likely to win a free-kick if they feel even the slightest touch.

Even with various replays, it is impossible to judge the full force of any contact but the technology already has a reputation for favouring defenders when it reviews goals.

Just take the goal Arsenal had disallowed against Palace last month. Milivojevic had gone down having tangled with the legs of Calum Chambers. If anything, there was more contact on the Eagles captain by his team-mate Cahill.

That example, alongside the penalty earned by Zaha in that game, the Ivorian getting away with a push on Kevin de Bruyne against Manchester City the week prior and a number of penalty appeals by Manchester United being waved away in August, perhaps give credence to the argument that these decisions even themselves out. Palace were yet to be the victims of a bad VAR decision before Saturday.

They may not have needed to rely on technology had they defended slightly better in the second half. Patrick van Aanholt had slowed down as he raced back in the build-up to Liverpool’s opener – meaning he was fractionally too late to clear the ball before Mane’s shot squirmed over the line.

Zaha had his best performance of the season and his goal was his first of a frustrating campaign. He started the move, putting Christian Benteke in down the left before the Belgian -who made a positive impact after coming on a substitute – passed to Townsend. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder rolled in Zaha who took a touch before steering the ball past Alisson.

That was eight minutes from full time and Palace seemed destined for their first point since October 5. But, once again, their failure to sufficiently deal with danger – a worryingly common trait in recent months – allowed Firmino to slam home the winner from close range.

Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Guaita 8, Ward 6 (Kelly 70, 5), Cahill 6, Tomkins 6, Van Aanholt 4, McArthur 5, Milivojevic 5, Kouyate 5 (Schlupp 72), Townsend 6, Ayew 6 (Benteke 76), Zaha 8. Not used: Hennessey, Dann, Meyer, McCarthy.

PICTURES BY KEITH GILLARD