Nothing to separate Palace and Liverpool

Crystal Palace and Liverpool played out a scoreless draw at Selhurst Park with both sides rattling the woodwork in a game that was otherwise low on chances.

Action: The Eagles were looking to pick up their first three points of 2023 and first win at home since October while Liverpool hoped to put that defeat to Real Madrid behind them by recording their third league win in a row.

But neither of those happened with a game of few chances ending goalless.

Liverpool were without Darwin Núñez with Jürgen Klopp electing not to risk the forward but it was at that back where they looked most vulnerable. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold gave the ball early on in the game in a dangerous area. Jean Mateta was on to it but his attempted chipped effort never looked convincing with Allison Becker able to get in the way.

Diogo Jota headed against the post in the 23rd minute after a cross from Joel Matip, but the Portuguese forward was at the tightest of angles and it would have been difficult to get an attempt on goal from there.

Mateta had Palace’s best opportunity just before half-time. Jeffrey Schlupp got the best of Alexander-Arnold on the left and put in a low cross that Mateta met but his effort cannoned off the bar.

Liverpool looked slightly better in the second half after the introduction of Harvey Elliott in place of the ineffective Naby Keita.

Shortly after the restart, Mohamed Salah pounced onto a rebound with a curling effort that bounced off Vicente Guaita’s bar with the visitors close to finding an opening.

Cody Gakpo had a great opportunity to find a late winner for the Reds after being played through by Salah. However, the charging Guaita looked to have done enough to put off the Dutch forward.

Palace meanwhile did well to get the ball into dangerous areas but looked lacking confidence and quality in the final third of the pitch with the exception of Michael Olise who looked most likely to create something.

A point a piece was a fair reflection of the game though. For Palace, it wasn’t a win but a well-earned point against a side they weren’t expected to beat. Liverpool meanwhile looked ineffective in front of goal and lacked some of the creativity and attacking threat their long injury list would have provided.

Man of the Match: Michael Olise was probably the brightest spark on the pitch. While much of Palace's forward line looked unlikely to make a difference, Olise had extra quality they lacked. Meanwhile, Salah was Liverpool's best player and had an effort strike the bar.

Stat of the Day: This was Palace's first clean sheet at home to Liverpool since April 2005 when Andy Johnson scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for Iain Dowie's team against Rafael Benítez's Reds.

xG: Crystal Palace (0.86) 0-0 (1.18) Liverpool

Points shared at Selhurst Park 🤝 #CRYLIV pic.twitter.com/XKAbOOzc9Y

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 25, 2023