Football Review | Liverpool 0 - 3 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace eased into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

From the moment they went ahead, Glasner’s side were comfortable against a heavily rotated Liverpool side.

Author | Ajay

Stadium | Anfield

Palace players celebrate

Liverpool’s manager named three teenagers in his starting eleven and another five on the bench, making ten changes from the team that lost 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday.

But slack defending proved costly as Palace’s Ismaila Sarr struck twice in four minutes late in the first half, effectively deciding the tie before Yeremy Pino added a third with a composed finish near the end.

With no player over 21 among the substitutes and senior figures such as Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike all missing, Liverpool exited meekly from a competition they had lifted twice in the past four seasons.

View from the home stands

Federico Chiesa, who scored for Liverpool in last season’s final defeat to Newcastle, had two presentable chances but fired one effort over and saw another kept out by Walter Benitez.

Joe Gomez’s mistake gifted Sarr his first goal, before the Senegal international doubled his tally moments later, unmarked as he latched on to Pino’s pass.

Liverpool’s night worsened when 18-year-old defender Amara Nallo was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute for bringing down Justin Devenny as he broke clear. Pino’s late strike sealed a commanding win for the visitors.

Palace have now beaten Liverpool three times in three months

Liverpool again. W again. pic.twitter.com/5EjmmnpHKT

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 29, 2025

They had already defeated Slot’s side on penalties in the Community Shield in August and followed that up with a 2-1 league win at Selhurst Park last month.

The Eagles have never reached the final of this competition, having fallen at the semi-final stage on four occasions, most recently in 2001. Yet, in what has been a remarkable six-month period, they have already lifted both the FA Cup and the Community Shield for the first time in their history.

After Sarr’s first-half brace, Palace were content to sit deep and absorb pressure, allowing Liverpool to dominate possession. Despite strong vocal support from the home crowd, the hosts rarely troubled Walter Benitez after the interval.

Any lingering hopes of a comeback disappeared when Amara Nallo, only 12 minutes after coming on, was shown a straight red card for bringing down Justin Devenny.

Pino added a third in the 88th minute to give the scoreline an emphatic look, prompting jubilant Palace supporters to sing “can we play you every week?” as they celebrated another memorable win.