Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace: Superb Sarr sinks Slot again
Liverpool's miserable run of form continued as they were dumped out of the EFL Cup by Crystal Palace, with Ismaila Sarr the hero.
Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace piled more misery on Liverpool and Arne Slot with a 3-0 victory in the EFL Cup fourth round at Anfield on Wednesday.
The Eagles forward netted twice late in the first half after an otherwise quiet opening period on Merseyside, with Yeremy Pino rounding out the victory late on.
Liverpool have now lost six of their past seven matches in all competitions, a run that started with a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Palace, who also bested Slot's men in the Community Shield back in August.
There was little sign of Liverpool's late first-half capitulation and Federico Chiesa did well to judge the bounce of the ball from a long punt forward before shooting wide in the early exchanges.
But the Reds' defensive woes reared their ugly head when Joe Gomez got his feet in a tangle and Sarr swept home first time into the bottom-right corner after 41 minutes.
Sarr then combined wonderfully with Pino before coolly slotting past Reds debutant and boyhood Palace fan Freddie Woodman in first-half stoppage time.
A rousing Liverpool comeback never showed any sign of occurring in the second half and things worsened when Amara Nello was sent off for a last-man challenge on Justin Devenny.
Pino then finished with a cool effort into the bottom-right corner after driving into the Reds' penalty area, and the only thing damper than Slot's spirits was the sodden Anfield turf as the rain lashed down on Merseyside.
Data Debrief: Seven heaven for Sarr as Eagles soar
Sarr has proven a regular scourge for Liverpool and his double in this fixture means he now has seven career goals against the Reds – including in the Community Shield and Premier League this season.
The former Watford man attempted five shots in this fixture, which is more than any other player in the game.
This contest represented the fifth EFL Cup meeting between the teams, with Palace now progressing from three of those to Liverpool's two.
Indeed, the Reds are now winless in their last four home games against Palace, last going so many on their own turf without a victory against a non-"big 6" side between 2012 and 2014 versus Aston Villa.
The luckless Nallo has made two senior appearances for Liverpool and been dismissed in both, with the other coming in a Champions League loss at PSV back in January.
