It is official: Liverpool FC is in crisis. Dropping from top place to seventh place in Premier League in a matter of weeks (losing all last four matches), losing in Champions League... and now being eliminated in EFL Cup round of 16 by Crystal Palace, recent winners of the FA Cup. And they suffered a big defeat, 0-3 playing at home, with a brace by Ismaila Sarr and another from Yeremy Pino, in which the London team dominated with nearly twice as many shots.
Arne Slot underestimated Crystal Palace and the competition, and the manager chose to try a very different line up, with ten changes compared to the team that played last weekend. Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, and Hugo Ekitike were all absent, and instead Slot trusted mostly on young players like 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha, who recently became the youngest Premier League scorer, and 18-year-old Amara Nallo... who saw a straight red card in the 79th minute.
With the spirit at one of the lowest points in years, a shocking decline from the dominant team last season, Liverpool faces three giants: Aston Villa on Saturday, Real Madrid on Tuesday, and Manchester City on Sunday. Could these matches be critical for Arne Slot's continuity?
EFL Cup results in round of 16:
Grimsby Town 0 - 5 Brentford
Wycome 1 (4) - 1 (5) Fulham
Wrexham 1 - 2 Cardiff City
Swansea 1 - 3 Manchester City
Arsenal 2 - 2 Brighton
Liverpool 0 - 3 Crystal Palace
Wolves 3 - 4 Chelsea
Newcastle 2 - 0 Tottenham