Freddie Woodman has been lavished with praise by Arne Slot for the crucial role he played in Liverpool beating Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The three points secured mean the Reds climb above Aston Villa despite being on the same number of points (58). Liverpool’s superior goal difference means they end the week in fourth, although finishing fifth will still be enough for Champions League qualification.
For Woodman, it was the dream game for his full Premier League debut.
The 29-year-old joined Liverpool after making 127 appearances for Preston North End, but was called into action last week to fill in for Giorgi Mamardashvili when the Georgian suffered a nasty gash to his knee.
There was a heart in mouth moment for Woodman, who was injured just before Palace scored. Daniel Munoz was able to find the back of the net while Woodman was struggling to his feet after suffering a heavy knock. The goal stood but it was hardly by way of Woodman’s fault.
Overall, Woodman was class.
Speaking after full-time, Woodman said: “It was an unbelievable moment for me. I didn’t think I would play at Anfield in a Premier League game when I joined this club.”
Freddie Woodman’s game by numbers vs. Crystal Palace:
6 shots faced
5 saves
5 saves from inside the box
3/3 successful run outs
0.38 goals prevented
Impressed on his big day. ? pic.twitter.com/VobJuxxyaw
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 25, 2026
Arne Slot says Woodman’s save in buildup to Robertson goal was ‘moment of the game’
In the moments before Andy Robertson found the back of the net with a finish strikers would appreciate, Woodman was terrific. With Alisson Becker watching from the sidelines, it was one for the Brazilian to admire for a change.
??? ???: There is a very expensive Macbook Pro on the touchline.
Alisson is standing close to the Macbook Pro to save possible shots destroying the computer.
What a guy. pic.twitter.com/okrlMElRPl
— The Touchline | ? (@TouchlineX) April 25, 2026
Slot celebrated the performance Woodman made in his post-match press conference, calling Woodman’s save in the build-up “the moment of the game.”
“That’s an understatement,” Slot said when a journalist praised Woodman for his performance.
“I think I’ve sat here many times telling you guys that we’ve created a lot of good chances and then the first one of the other team went in. Now, I cannot say that today, because they’ve had enough good chances and enough moments that they were really close.
“But I think the moment of the game was, of course, the lead up to our 2-0 where Freddie made a big save. Otherwise it would have been 1-1 and 10 seconds later it’s 2-0. These are the current margins in the Premier League and today they were on our side and so many times they have been not on our side.”
Woodman is actually a Palace fan making today all the more perfect for him
I imagine that football players who compete against their boyhood clubs must relish playing them.
For Woodman, he got the chance to make his full Premier League debut against Crystal Palace, a team he said after full time is his favourite club.
He said: “It was an unbelievable moment for me. I didn’t think I would play at Anfield in a Premier League game when I joined this club.”
Freddie Woodman: "I'm a massive [Crystal Palace] fan now, still, but I wanted to try and help the team as much as I can. I've trained for this. When you're playing behind top players, it makes my job so much easier." (Sky Sports)
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) April 25, 2026
It’s unclear how long Woodman will field as cover for back-up Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was covering for Alisson Becker before the Georgian suffered his own injury.