Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, shakes hands with Oliver Glasner, Manager of Crystal Palace, following the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on October 29, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, shakes hands with Oliver Glasner, Manager of Crystal Palace, following the Carabao Cup Fourth Round match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on October 29, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Liverpool were eliminated from the Carabao Cup after suffering a 3-0 loss against Crystal Palace to add more pressure on Arne Slot.
Those who headed down to the Anfield concourses after Craig Pawson blew his whistle to signal half-time knew Liverpool’s fate.
Even the most optimistic supporters would have felt a comeback was impossible. Ismaila Sarr wreaked havoc on the Reds yet again, with his double moving him to seven goals against Liverpool in his career.
In usual circumstances, when teams are two goals behind at the interval, head coaches turn to their options on the substitutes’ bench. Arne Slot surveyed his options and would have counted a combined total of nine senior Reds appearances among them. Seven belonged to Kaide Gordon.
Sat behind Gordon and Co at Anfield were Mo Salah, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai. All were rested entirely for the fourth-round tie.
On the other hand, Palace boss Oliver Glasner looked to his talisman Jean-Philippe Mateta, who had bullied Liverpool’s defence in the 2-1 Premier League win at Selhurst Park last month. Mateta was stripped off and ready to ensure victory was not thrown away.
To be frank, Slot surrendered the Reds’ chances of winning the encounter - and thus the Carabao Cup - before a ball was kicked . Seventy-five minutes ahead of kick-off, when the teams came out, the outcome was obvious. Giving a debut to Kieran Morrison, playing teenagers Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha and deploying a 3-4-3 formation spoke volumes.
Palace, on the other hand, played a strong side that contained regular starters Sarr, Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix, Daniel Munoz, Daichi Kamada and Yeremy Pino. Only Kerkez, who has had a worrying opening to his Liverpool career, and Alexis Mac Allister have frequently featured in Liverpool’s XI this season.
Against the backdrop of four successive Premier League losses, there was pre-match debate around the team that Slot should select. Usually, making sweeping changes would be accepted at this stage of the competition as Liverpool have not been in such a precarious situation in the Premier League.
Some agreed Slot had to tinker with his line-up. Others felt a victory could help rebuild confidence. What many would have concurred is that a strong bench should have been named. Instead, Gordon was the player with the most seniority. If Salah, Wirtz and the rest could sit behind the dugout in rainy conditions, why couldn’t they play for 45 minutes?
Given Liverpool are already seven points behind Arsenal in the title race, some fans are accepting the English championship will be relinquished. Meanwhile, the Champions League is the most difficult club competition in the world to win and, on current form, the Reds are nowhere near at the level of the Gunners, current holders PSG, Bayern Munich and Tuesday’s opponents Real Madrid.
The Carabao Cup was perhaps realistically only one of two trophies that Liverpool could lift this season. That has now decreased to just the FA Cup.
And it has added pressure on the next three fixtures, which are significant. Aston Villa, who have found form after a shaky start, visit Anfield on Saturday. Then there is the visit of Madrid before a trip to Manchester City. Fail to win either of the Premier League games and any slim hopes of challenging Arsenal can be waved goodbye. Defeat to Real will underline Liverpool are not capable of dining at Europe’s top table.
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