Eze and Palace deal Liverpool big blow with 1-0 victory

LIVERPOOL, England, April 14 (Reuters) - Liverpool’s quest for a Premier League title in manager Juergen Klopp’s final season with the team suffered a huge blow with a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Anfield on Sunday that left them third in the table.

Eberechi Eze scored in the 14th minute to stun the Anfield faithful in the third consecutive disappointing result for Liverpool. Klopp’s men are even on 71 points with second-placed Arsenal, who were playing later on Sunday, and two behind provisional leaders Manchester City.

Tyrick Mitchell found Eze unmarked in the box after some pretty passing and Eze slotted home with his first touch to put Palace ahead. Poor finishing by Liverpool sealed their first league loss at Anfield since October 2022 and the television cameras captured young Liverpool fans wiping away tears in the stands after the final whistle.

Liverpool, who had 21 shots to Palace’s eight, squandered a bagful of chances including Curtis Jones’s shot on a breakaway that he fired wide, tugging his shirt over his head in disbelief. Liverpool’s talisman Mohamed Salah hammered a close-range strike off a defender in the dying seconds.

Palace keeper Dean Henderson also made some remarkable saves, darting to stop a Darwin Nunez point-blank shot off his knee, among others.

Palace could have doubled their lead in the first half when Jean-Philippe Mateta chipped past Liverpool keeper Alisson. The ball was bound for goal but defender Andy Robertson sprinted back and slid to just save it on the line. Palace, who are 14th in the table, ended a 10-match winless run on the road, their first away victory since November against Burnley.

Liverpool were coming off a 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday and a costly 2-2 draw with Manchester United in their previous league game on April 7. Arsenal were hosting Aston Villa in Sunday’s late game with first place in the table up for grabs.