Match Report: Momentum Building As Liverpool Edge Past Palace into Last 8

In recent times Selhurst Park has been an inauspicious ground for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side, but here the Eagles' fans were looking even further into the past for inspiration, hoping to summon a similar performance from their historic win over Liverpool in the 1990 FA Cup semi-final.

Coincidently, newly appointed manager Alan Pardew scored the winner in that very match and the home fans did not hesitate to remind the opposition by unveiling a banner displaying an image of Pardew celebrating that goal.

Additionally, Rodgers would have been wary at the sight of this fixture after falling to a 3-1 defeat earlier on in the season, as he explained after the game: “We were at a real low point at that time, with a lot of new players trying to adapt to the pressures of playing for Liverpool and the raised expectations after the way the team had been developing in the two previous years.”

Since, Rodgers has seemingly started to find a balance to a new-look Liverpool side, solidifying the defence and re-establishing a sense of trepidation to opposition defences with the team’s firepower up front, resulting in just two defeats in their last 22 matches in all competitions subsequently. This run was to continue here thanks to goals from Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge, handing Liverpool their first win at Selhurst Park since 1997.

Liverpool started off the match with an air of authority, controlling early proceedings. Despite this, it was Palace who took the lead. In the 17th minute, Joe Ledley exploited space between Emre Can and Martin Skrtel with a chipped pass from deep; it was the latter whose failed clearance landed in the path of Dwight Gayle who nodded it goalwards. Simon Mignolet rushed off his line to palm the ball away but cleared only as far as Fraizer Campbell, who more than gratefully stroked the ball in. Gayle continued what seems to be a personal vendetta against the Reds, now having contributed to 5 goals in his last 4 appearances against the Merseyside club.

Palace dropped deeper as the half went on, with their back four almost camping within their own penalty box as the away team threatened more and more. A large majority of Liverpool’s play occurred just outside the box, as shown on the heatmap of their touches (below).

Debutant Pape Souaré nearly gifted Liverpool a route back into the match, as the Senegalese left-back clumsily took down Sturridge in the box midway through the half. A slight touch on the ball may have given him the benefit of the doubt in the referee’s mind, who quickly dismissed the appeals of the shocked striker. Liverpool best chance of the half fell to Adam Lallana, after some slick passes in and around the box; Lallana fired an attempt a few yards from goal only to be denied by a great save by Speroni. Liverpool were limited to shots from distance, with Henderson and Coutinho producing decent attempts, but to no avail.

Despite all this pressure, Pardew may well be aggrieved that his team did not have a two goal lead into the break, after the best chance of the half fell to Gayle. Described as a “pivotal moment” of the match by Pardew, a through ball played by Bolasie found Gayle, as after Martin Skrtel again failed to intercept the oncoming attack, Gayle produced a low shot, which was well blocked by the left leg of Mignolet. Pardew continued: "We would have been very difficult to beat if we'd got the second goal but it didn't go in and of course the game was different."

Mario Balotelli was brought into the fray for the second half. The Italian striker made a telling contribution in midweek, grabbing an imperative winner against Tottenham. Rodgers placed his faith in the striker, who is finally showing signs of finding his feet in his return to England.

But it was his strike partner Sturridge who was to make the first telling contribution, running onto a delightfully precise chip by Henderson, with Sturridge manufacturing enough room to guide a volley past Speroni. That was the 10th goal in 12 FA Cup starts for the England striker.  Even Alberto Moreno joined in with Sturridge’s signature dance, gleefully celebrating the breakthrough.

Liverpool completed the turnaround 9 minutes later, as Balotelli fired a shot from a free-kick just outside the box  following a bit of skill to win it himself in the first place. The shot proved too hot to handle for Speroni, with Lallana pouncing on the rebound to score his 5th goal of the season.

The emphasis of match suddenly changed with Palace pushing forward to find the equaliser. It was an enthralling finale to a match which really tested Mignolet's command of his box. The Belgian provided a dominant display, claiming and punching a number crosses as well as a parrying away yet another attempt from Gayle.

Henderson claimed the WhoScored MotM for his assist, as well creating 5 other chances. His tireless performance was encapsulated in the final minutes of injury time, showing endeavour he has often exhibited, sprinting a great distance to win the ball.

Pardew’s side managed just 263 passes during the course of the match, with Liverpool completing  more than twice that (555). "I'm disappointed with how we played. With the ball, that was one our worst performances under me.” Pardew said. He will now swiftly switch his attention to helping Palace avoid the drop in the Premier League. As for Rodgers, his first trophy for Liverpool may seem to be a real possibility in the near future, with his side building momentum over the last months as they once again look to finish off the season strongly and maybe even give Gerrard a chance to lift a final trophy before his send-off.

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