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| I can't look: A dejected Suarez walks off the pitch with Liverpool's title hopes in tatters |
At first, Luis Suarez
almost appeared to be smiling, in a bemused, rueful, funny-old-game sort
of way. And then the final whistle blew and reality hit him. He
dissolved in tears and pulled his shirt over his head until nothing of
the man was visible. And that is how he stayed, all the way to the
tunnel.
Steven Gerrard
pushed away the prying eye of the television cameras. The pain was too
personal. Now they know how AC Milan must have felt in 2005, or West
Ham United at the end of the FA Cup final a year later.
As
of 79 minutes, Liverpool were three goals ahead of Crystal Palace,
three points ahead of Manchester City and had cut their rivals’
goal-difference advantage to six. Now they could wait in the hope those
pale blue eyes would blink.
Bawling: Gerrard tends to an inconsolable Suarez after the final whistle
Can't even look: Reds talisman Suarez breaks down after his side shipped a 3-0 lead
Out the way: Gerrard points a camera away from the dejected Suarez
Deflated: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, a week on from his slip against Chelsea, rues the result
Exasperation: Daniel Sturridge looks on in anguish after missing a chance on goal
MATCH FACTS
CRYSTAL PALACE Speroni 6; Mariappa 6, Delaney 7, Dann 6.5, Ward 6.5;
Jedinak 5.5, Dikgacoi 5; Bolasie 7, Ledley 6, Puncheon 5 (Gayle 65, 7); Chamakh 5
(Murray 71, 6).
Booked: Dann, Mariappa.
Goals: Delaney 79, Gayle 81, 88
Manager: Tony Pulis 7.
LIVERPOOL Mignolet 6; Johnson 6, Skrtel 5.5, Sakho 5.5,
Flanagan 6; Gerrard 6, Allen 7, Lucas 5.5; Sterling 7 (Coutinho 78, 6), Suarez 8,
Sturridge 7.
Booked: Allen, Suarez, Skrtel.
Goals: Allen 18, Sturridge 53, Suarez 55
Manager: Brendan Rodgers 6.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg 7.
Ratings from NEIL ASHTON at Selhurst Park
Nine minutes later, the roof had
fallen in. Final score Crystal Palace 3 Liverpool 3. Defence, it turns
out, is not as easy as Brendan Rodgers made it sound after defeat by
Chelsea. If his Liverpool team could defend, they would already be
champions. If they could defend, the newly crowned Footballer of the
Year would not be hurting so much this morning.
Chelsea’s
tilt at the title was decried by those who found their approach
negative, but Liverpool have proved equally flawed, albeit in a more
palatable way. They were as bad at defending as Chelsea were at
attacking. It was overlooked because their attacking game was so
beautiful but, ultimately, it is the reason the title seems destined for
Manchester again.
Liverpool
have conceded five goals in their last two games and 49 over the
season. They were hoping to be the worst defence to win the title since
Derby County in 1975, but there is a reason champions do not concede
approaching 50 goals. No striker can outscore that weakness; not even
Suarez, the best player in the land.
In action: Goalscorer Joe Allen (left) tries to win the ball from Palace striker Marouane Chamakh
Amazing: Gayle celebrates with Yannick Bolasie, sparking roaring scenes at Selhurst Park
No avail: Palace keeper Julian Speroni can't stretch to stop Daniel Sturridge's goal for Liverpool's second
Over
in the Arthur Wait Stand the travelling support were ashen-faced. This
was their year and a few weeks back Selhurst Park was going to be the
ground where they won their first title of the Premier League era.
Instead, it will be the stuff of sweaty nightmares.
What
just happened, they seemed to be asking as they trooped home. Who
knows? What is it that inspires a team with nothing to play for to score
three goals in nine minutes, against a team with the title in their
sights? Hard to say, but credit Crystal Palace and Tony Pulis for
confirming that this is one of the greatest campaigns of any era.
Results
like this are life affirming at a time when a tiny UEFA-endorsed elite
have so much their way. Over here, at least, anybody can beat anybody;
or mess them up good and proper, as Palace did.
Who
knows what damage they have inflicted here? Palace may even have ended a
few Anfield careers because there is no way Rodgers can rely on this
defensive unit next season — and will Steven Gerrard ever captain
Liverpool to the title?
Battle: Johnson (left) challenges Palace winger Yannick Bolasie
Punched away: Simon Mignolet rises above a crowd of players to get the ball clear
Iconic: Suarez celebrates matching Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 31 goals in a season
Certainly
it was not a good day for the field of sports psychiatry. What with
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Liverpool FC on his books, Dr Steve Peters is
going to be a busy man in the next few days.
This
season’s title race is not over yet, but it felt like it as the away
end dwindled into the night. Manchester City could even afford to draw
one of their final matches and still win the league unless Liverpool are
planning to beat Newcastle United by 12. Suddenly, like the vanquished
O’Sullivan at The Crucible, they need snookers.
There
is nothing left for them to do on Sunday but play to their strengths
and hope City lose. Attack, attack, attack, as their fans implore. They
might as well because they certainly can’t defend.
The
harsh truth is that Liverpool blinked first. They crumbled when Palace
came at them with nothing to lose and champions cannot do that. It was a
collapse as mystifying as it was sudden.
‘Three-nil
and you f***ed it up,’ sang the home fans. Unbearably harsh, but true.
There are many more poetic ways to describe this but, bottom line, it
was a f*** up.
Wise heads
always discounted the idea that Palace’s season was over. Tony Pulis
sends out competitive teams at every stage of any campaign and
Liverpool took a substantial lead here because they were the better team
for an hour, not because the opposition rolled over.
The
last 11 minutes proved Palace’s determination. There was unbelievable
venom in their resurgence and real desire for mayhem. Liverpool had no
answer to them, and that should not be said of champions, either.
Incredible: Palace fans ensured there was a colourful backdrop to the game with this European-style 'tifo'
England expects: Liverpool's Raheem Sterling flies down the wing
Head down: Martin Skrtel joins his team-mates in utter despair after the final whistle
REMAINING GAMES
Manchester City
Aston Villa (H) May 7
West Ham (H) May 11
Liverpool
Newcastle (H) May 11
Chelsea
Cardiff (A) May 11
Aston Villa (H) May 7
West Ham (H) May 11
Liverpool
Newcastle (H) May 11
Chelsea
Cardiff (A) May 11
What
at first appeared to be mere consolation came in the 79th minute when a
shot from Damien Delaney clipped Glen Johnson and edged clear of Simon
Mignolet’s despairing grasp. At the time it seemed like a
goal-difference issue and no more for Liverpool. It can now be
identified as the beginning of the end.
What
turned drama into crisis for Liverpool came two minutes later with a
break from Yannick Bolasie down the left side. He checked his run and
squared a perfect pass to substitute Dwight Gayle, who swept in the
second.
It's on: Suarez rushes back to the halfway line after netting Liverpool's third goal
Strike a pose: Daniel Sturridge hits home for Liverpool's second goal at Selhurst Park
Liverpool’s
discomfort was obvious. Palace sensed it and swarmed over them like
angry ants. Liverpool surrendered. A long ball from the back was chested
on by another substitute, Glenn Murray, and fell to Gayle, who left
Mignolet with no chance.
Late
of Peterborough United, Bishop’s Stortford, Dagenham and Redbridge and
Stansted, Gayle proved what could be achieved with sheer pace and a nose
for goal. He inherited Wilfried Zaha’s No 16 shirt last summer and one
imagines wouldn’t have envisaged getting a bigger say in the title race.
It could have been even greater had he not missed a chance to make it
four. Seriously.
So, how
should this have concluded? In a comfortable win for Liverpool,
obviously. At the hour mark they looked to have done one of those
super-professional jobs that marks out champions at this stage in the
season.
A goal up at half
time, they scored twice in two minutes in the second half to conjure
hopes of a royal thumping — four or five, maybe — to really put the
pressure on City. They were eschewing celebrations, picking up the ball
and running back to the centre circle after scoring, better to go
again. It could have happened.
The boss: Brendan Rodgers offers his side instructions from the Selhurst Park dugout
Starting the comeback: Simon Mignolet doesn't reach Damien Delaney's goal for Palace
The
game was 18 minutes old when a shot from Daniel Sturridge was steered
wide off the head of Delaney. From the resulting corner, Gerrard picked
out Joe Allen, one of the smallest players on the pitch, unmarked at the
far post to head his first league goal for Liverpool.
It
was a simple finish, but Allen did brilliantly to lose his marker, Joe
Ledley, who should have got tighter rather than just trying to manhandle
his opponent. This modern method of grappling is no replacement for
good old-fashioned defending and, by the time the ball arrived, Allen
had enough space to erect a tent let alone head a goal.
Liverpool
have been the best attacking force in the Premier League this season
and in the space of two second-half minutes they thought the game was
won. In the 53rd minute a long pass from Gerrard picked out Sturridge,
who cut inside and ran adjacent to goal before finishing with a low shot
that defeated goalkeeper Julian Speroni, having taken a slight
deflection.
Then, Liverpool
scored the goal of a team at the peak of confidence. Mamadou Sakho’s
upfield ball was no more than hopeful but Suarez tried to let it run
with a dummy, rode his luck with a little tickle off the defender and
then played a lovely one-two with Raheem Sterling before slotting the
ball past Speroni.
Some
watching on television at home may have switched over at that point,
making a mental note to tune in tomorrow for the next stage of title
race 2014. They had reckoned without Crystanbul; and Liverpool’s
defence.
Flying: Palace stars Bolasie and Gayle celebrate completing their incredible comeback
Slotting home: Gayle worms his way through Liverpool's leaky defence to kill the Reds' title dream
Comeback complete: The Liverpool players look distraught after Gayle (left) hits the equaliser
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