John Aldridge reflects on Liverpool's win over Crystal Palace and Alisson Becker's future in the first half of his weekly column
Alisson Becker was denied a clean sheet in Liverpool's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace by a controversial penalty
Alisson Becker was denied a clean sheet in Liverpool's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace by a controversial penalty
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Liverpool were sketchy at times defensively against Crystal Palace. We had to rely on Alisson to make sure we got the win.
It was a good win though. There was pressure on us to get the win. There was pressure on Palace too, to be fair. Their game-plan was to suck us in and hit us on the break.
That’s what everyone does against Liverpool. But thankfully we got the first goal.
It was great to see Alexander Isak score another goal, and both Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola delivered in the final third too.
Confidence is massive in football, it's massive. As a goalscorer, when you have a bad time, it's like hockey goals with a big keeper.
But when you're in form and scoring goals all the time, like Isak’s doing now, it feels like virtually an open goal or a big net with a small goalkeeper. And that's your confidence, that's a mindset. And it bodes well for us.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 8: Alexander Isak of Liverpool celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Crystal Palace FC and Liverpool FC at Selhurst Park on November 8, 2026 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)
Alexander Isak celebrates after scoring Liverpool's third goal in their 3-1 win at Crystal Palace(Image: Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Slowly but surely you can see the manager's plan coming through. He's trying to make it work.
The effort was there, the commitment was there, the fight was there, and we’re matching other teams’ running power.
We didn’t have that last year. We do again now and it makes a massive difference.
We got three points and it helped to forget about what happened in the week, to a certain extent. The win takes us back into the top four, which is what we’ve got to aim for. Aim for that and see what happens.
Unfortunately we’re now into another break. Hopefully, they all come back fit and well. And then we can hopefully build on it against Man United. It doesn’t matter where they are in the table, it’s always a massive fixture.
Ali back to his best
Thankfully, Ali was back to his best - especially after everyone questioning him in the week. That’s the media for you. Even the save he made against Arsenal, having made the mistake for the goal, was brilliant.
I don't know what it is, maybe it's his distribution a little bit, but he shouldn't be put under pressure at times, you know? Sometimes when it's got to go, it’s got to go. It's part of today's game.
He’s an unbelievable goalkeeper. Palace could have easily scored the first goal. Thankfully he stopped them, but if they had, it would have been a very different game.
Ali’s done his job though. As I keep on saying, they should give him a new contract.
I think that far too many players have left us at a late age. The owners seem to see it as part of their plan, but there’s no sell-on.
That doesn’t make sense to me. But goalkeepers can play until their forties. Yes, Alisson has made a few errors. That happens. In the week against Fenerbahce, it wasn’t great but that wasn’t just his fault.
Certainly for what Ali's done for the club, he deserves a new deal. I’m delighted to hear him say he wants to stay and talks have started.
Fingers crossed it has a positive outcome because I'd like to see him get another extension personally.
LiVARpool? Do me a favour!
I’m really irritated by the Crystal Palace goal. I can't for the life of me see how that was a penalty - I think that's a disgrace.
How can two players collide, clash of heads, and he points to the spot? It's not a penalty, it's a joke.
We’re talking about refereeing decisions every week now. It does my head in, some of the officiating and some of the calls. It’s inept at times.
For me, call me old-fashioned: two lads going for the ball, no malice, trying to head the ball, colliding heads… whoever got there first, it doesn't matter. It's a collision.
I've never seen a penalty personally given for that. It’s irrelevant because we got the result, but it really wound me up.
Rival fans call us LiVARpool. Do me a favour. That’s the biggest load of rubbish. Really, really big decisions keep going against us.
Liverpool's Brazilian goalkeeper #01 Alisson Becker (C) reacts after Crystal Palace's English striker #09 Eddie Nketiah (R) scored on a penalty kick in extra time during the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park in south London on November 8, 2026. (Photo by Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Alisson Becker reacts after Eddie Nketiah converts his penalty for Crystal Palace against Liverpool (Image: Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images)
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We wanted a clean sheet. Yeah, of course we did. Defences and goalkeepers pride themselves on clean sheets.
But that decision was ridiculous. Come on. It’s a head collision. Two lads go for the ball, and one gets there just before the other. It's not a foul, it's just a coming-together.
These are questionable decisions they are making. Look, we’re human, right? But it’s not just now and again. It’s all the time. And when VAR can’t get it right, that is a problem.
We’re mere mortals, but it’s not ‘our own team’ thing. It doesn’t matter who you’re watching, these baffling decisions are being made.
It doesn’t matter who you support. You see some decisions and you’re left scratching your head, wondering: ‘What the hell is going on?’
The league should step in. Someone’s got to get involved. They should get ex-players on board, to sit on it and offer a player’s point of view. Common sense has to prevail.
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