football world with a 4-3 FA Cup semi-inal victory at Villa Park.
If this wasn’t enough to view them as a bogey team, it paved
the way for another period of notable success for the South
Londoners.
Between the 9-0 and a meeting between the two sides in
December 1992, Liverpool and Palace played each other eight
times in just over three years with Liverpool winning only three
times. Palace’s recovery from the joint-biggest defeat of their
history was undoubtedly praiseworthy.
The game in late 1992 resulted in a 2-1 extra-time victory for
Palace in a League Cup fourth-round replay, just as it would when
I’d be the matchday mascot eleven years later, but this time at
Selhurst Park.
Palace defender Andy Thorn was just that in Liverpool’s side as
he scored the winner that prompted The Guardian to comment:
“Liverpool may well go to their graves with Crystal Palace written
on their hearts. Last night a Palace team apparently weakened
beyond the point of all reasonable expectation still managed to
remove Graeme Souness’ side from the Coca-Cola Cup.”
It was perhaps the most damaging defeat for Liverpool in the
history of this ixture to date. The Reds subsequently lost FA Cup
replays to Bolton Wanderers then Bristol City and Souness would
resign in January 1994.
That was then and this is now, and Liverpool are a very diferent
animal indeed. Even so, who remembers last season’s Premier
League ixture at Anield, on Saturday 19 January 2019?
It ended in a 4-3 victory for the Reds but only after the hosts
trailed 1-0 after half-time. Despite dominating possession
Liverpool fell behind after Andros Townsend slotted home from
Wilfred Zaha’s cut-back from the byline.
Mo Salah equalised within a minute of the restart and Bobby
Firmino put the Reds in front with the club’s 1,000th Premier
League goal at Anield. But the nerves jangled again when Palace
centre-back James Tomkins headed home from a corner to make
it 2-2.
Salah struck again with his 50th Premier League goal – and
48th for the Reds – after Palace keeper Julian Speroni failed to
deal with a James Milner cross. Milner was then sent of by his
former schoolteacher Jon Moss following a second bookable
ofence before Sadio Mane became the irst Liverpool player to
score in four consecutive games against Palace to make it 4-2 in
added-time.
Even then, Palace sub Max Meyer stroked home a third goal for
the visitors to make for an anxious inal minute.
Liverpool v Crystal Palace, as it stands, takes place on Saturday
21 March 2020. A Reds win is what we all dearly hope for, but
don’t be too surprised if it isn’t quite as straightforward as normal!
MO SALAH EQUALISED
WITHIN A MINUTE OF THE
RESTART AND BOBBY
FIRMINO PUT THE REDS IN
FRONT WITH THE CLUB’S
1,000TH PREMIER LEAGUE
GOAL AT ANFIELD