Crystal Palace headed into Saturday's Premier League encounter with Liverpool full of cheer that they could pull off another memorable result at Anfield.
After all, the Eagles had already beaten Arne Slot's men three times, in three separate competitions this season, before travelling to Merseyside, with wins coming their way in the Community Shield, the Premier League, and the EFL Cup.
Liverpool's Joe Gomez talks to Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi at the end of the match
A fourth victory wasn't forthcoming, though, as Liverpool - despite not dominating all of the game - collected their 17th Premier League victory of the season in a 3-1 home win.
Oliver Glasner would have been left disappointed with his team's attacking performance, as Brennan Johnson, again, failed to spark into life for the South London visitors.
Johnson's poor performance vs Liverpool
The Welsh attacker would have been viewed as a statement acquisition when Palace picked up the 24-year-old from Tottenham Hotspur last summer for a whopping £35m.
Scoring 11 times last season in Premier League action, Glasner and Co. would be praying that the 6-foot-1 forward could be equally lethal in front of goal in his new London environment, but it just hasn't worked out for the expensive flop.
Indeed, at the time of writing, he has only two goals and one assist next to his name from 30 league outings this campaign for the Eagles, and he never really looked like exploiting Liverpool's defensive frailities at Anfield, with Daniel Munoz's controversial goal the only moment a spirited Freddie Woodman was beaten.
Daniel-Munoz
Managing just two shots from his 59-minute run-out, before being replaced by Yeremy Pino, Johnson would also only amass 11 accurate passes, with Palace now surely left wondering why they splashed the cash on such an indifferent winger.
He also nearly gave away an early penalty in the Premier League showdown, when he stopped one of Mohamed Salah's direct surges.
Thankfully, to spare his blushes, VAR intervened.
Brennan-Johnson-1
Reports suggest that the Conference League semi-finalists might well try to sell Johnson on when the summer transfer window reopens, with the one-time Nottingham Forest attacker's ordeal in South London potentially only lasting one dire season.
There was another attacker who was even worse than the £35m flop, though, who looks to be heading for the end of his time at Selhurst Park...
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A summer of much change is on the horizon at the reigning FA Cup winners, with Glasner walking away from the Eagles at the end of the season, firing out an ever-expanding list of potential successors.
Alongside discussions that Johnson could leave, too, there are plenty of rumours in the air that Jean-Philippe Mateta will bring his topsy-turvy stay at Selhurst Park to a close when the season is out.
Mateta
This news would have crushed Palace fans once upon a time, with a combined 36 goals in league action over his last two full campaigns, mightily impressive.
He just hasn't been firing on all cylinders for quite some time now as the Eagles' main attacking focal point, with Glasner needing to replace the hit-and-miss number 14, after a dire showing at Anfield.
Johnston & Mateta's performances
Stat
Minutes played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches
Shots
Accurate passes
Possession lost
Total duels won
His performance was even more insipid than Johnson's, arguably, with the usually forceful Frenchman, who has only three goals across his last ten games in all competitions, managing to fluff his lines with two big chances, as Palace faced a very stern Woodman in between the sticks for the hosts.
Moreover, Mateta would only complete six accurate passes from his minimal 15 touches of the ball, with the Austrian perhaps tempted to give Jorgen Strand Larsen, who is the club's record signing at a jaw-dropping £48m, an extended run in the first team at Mateta's expense, after a sluggish display on Merseyside.
Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta
Stuck in 13th spot in the Premier League standings on a drab 43 points, there is a danger that Glasner will bow out from Palace - having once hoisted the FA Cup aloft - on sour terms.
Palace's main focus will be on lifting the Conference League, with the 51-year-old surely not at ease at the prospect of starting both Johnson and Mateta when travelling to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-final stages of the competition on Thursday night, on the back of their unconvincing efforts at Liverpool.
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