“The boys in front of goal have to do better” - Andy Robertson blames Liverpool’s attackers for 1-0 Crystal Palace defeat
Liverpool star Andrew Robertson has blamed his attackers for their 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, April 14. He criticised their inability to take chances as the Reds were dealt a huge blow in the title race.
Knowing that a victory would provisionally take them back to the top of the league table, Jurgen Klopp's side had to beat Palace to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City.
Palace, though, sprung a real surprise by sealing all three points at Anfield for the first time since 2017, despite coming into the fixture on the back of a five-game winless run.
Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game in the 14th minute as the Reds could never recover from it. The home side finished with 21 shots in the game, of which six were on target, but none could find the back of the net.
Robertson, who played the entire 90 minutes, had some tough words for his attackers after the game, as they flattered to deceive big time. Speaking to the press, the Scotsman said:
“You have to take your chances. The boys in front of goal have to do better.”
Darwin Nunez saw a chance saved by Dean Henderson while Diego Jota's effort was blocked by Nathaniel Clyne. Curtis Jones had a great opportunity to equalize for the Reds in the first half after going one-on-one with Henderson, but he ended up firing his shot wide.
Just like in their 3-0 home loss to Atalanta in the Europa League a few days earlier (April 11), Liverpool faced similar problems in the attack, lacking the cutting edge to make their chances count.
The Reds next play the Gli Orobici on Thursday (April 18) in the second leg of their quarter finals, trailing 3-0 in the tie and needing a huge performance to keep their European title hopes alive.
Liverpool's league and European aspirations blown within a few days
In a span of just three days, Liverpool saw their Premier League and Europa League title hopes dealt a huge blow.
Against Atalanta, the Reds went down 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the return fixture. The 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace in the league left them trailing Manchester City by two points with only six games remaining.
At the start of March, they seemed well on course for a quadruple, having bagged the Carabao Cup. But since then, Liverpool have been knocked out of the FA Cup, and now need a real miracle to salvage the Premier League and Europa League.