Liverpool fans couldn’t believe what they were watching in the defeat to Crystal Palace today, and neither could one pundit during the second half.
Despite the Reds having a succession of chances after the interval, they failed to find a way past Dean Henderson and succumbed to a gift of a goal to Eberechi Eze in the 14th minute.
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The home side’s profligacy was summed up on 75 minutes when Curtis Jones was through one-on-one, but missed the target completely from penalty spot range with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live in response to that huge let-off for the visitors, Neil Lennon said: “This game is bonkers. It’s absolutely bonkers. I’ve never seen misses like this in my life. Jones is one on one, steadies himself and puts it wide. It’s an incredible miss.”
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When Jones contrived to fluff that glorious opportunity, you got a sense that it simply wasn’t going to be Liverpool’s day, and so it proved.
The Reds have failed to score in only three games all season, and two of those have been in the last 72 hours. At least there was more of a performance today than against Atalanta, but the wastefulness from Jurgen Klopp’s side was unforgivable.
Manchester City and Arsenal fans must’ve been horizontal with laugher at the chances that we passed up against Palace, and six shots on target out of 21 in the full match simply isn’t a good enough strike rate.
Champions prove their worth during the run-in to the season, either to drive home a sizeable advantage or hit the turbo on the final straight to clinch glory.
Unfortunately, Liverpool are faltering with the finish line in sight; and even with both of the other title contenders still within arm’s reach, momentum is well and truly against us after this weekend.
Quite simply, there’s no more room for error for the rest of the season, and even then we’re left needing favours from other teams, but the Reds simply need to be better at taking care of their own business.