Premier League 2020-21: Liverpool 2-0 Crystal Palace: 3 key takeaways from the match

Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Anfield in their last Premier League match of the season to finish 3rd in the table behind the two Manchester clubs - Manchester City and Manchester United.

Liverpool finished with 69 points from 38 matches, and secured automatic qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League. Meanwhile, Palace finished in 14th position with 44 points.

Sadio Mane scored both the goals of the tie, in the 36th and 74th minute of the match. The Senegalese scored from an Andrew Robertson corner in the first half, converting off a flick by Roberto Firmino. He scored again in the second half, finishing clinically, off a pass from Mohamed Salah.

𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐃𝐃𝐖𝐖𝐖Our final ten @premierleague games... ❤️The Reds dug deep when we needed it most 😍 pic.twitter.com/2K5ZV3BVix

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 23, 2021

On that note, let's take a look at the three takeaways from today’s match:

#1 Liverpool attacked repeatedly in the first half, but could not convert most of their chances:

Liverpool launched numerous attacks on the Palace defense from the beginning, with Salah and Mane playing active roles. Salah received a number of passes in the first half and continued to cut into the Crystal Palace penalty box from the right flank. He also combined well with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, looking to create threats with quick give-and-go's.

Both Mane and Thiago Alcantara played several long passes to Salah from the middle third.. The Egyptian breached the Crystal Palace defense to enter the penalty box on a couple of occasions, but failed to beat the goalkeeper. Mane also had some opportunities to score, but could not convert them.

Towards the latter stages of the first half, Salah started switching into the center forward's role and was in the goal-scoring position quite often. However, Liverpool failed to create enough chances to threaten, and failed to break the deadlock early on.

#2 Liverpool kept dominating the proceedings in the midfield and scored finally:

Crystal Palace created a few scoring opportunities in the initial moments of the first half as their front three started pressing the Liverpool defense. Andros Townsend should have scored in the 13th minute of the match, but failed to slot the ball past Alisson Becker. However, Liverpool started dictating terms in midfield soon after, as Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho sat deep and kept playing forward passes to their front three.

Mane also kept dropping down into midfield quite often and started to play probing passes to Salah and Firmino. He also exchanged quick passes with Robertson to craft a few attacks through the left wing.

As Leicester City took the lead in their match against Tottenham, the intensity of the Liverpool attacks increased and they also managed to earn quite a few corners. Mane finally managed to score from one of them and thereby break the deadlock. Liverpool’s dominance in the first half can be gaged from the fact that they had 66% ball possession and made more than 10 attempts.

#3 The flurry of attacks continued in the second half, and Liverpool scored again:

Mohamed Salah could not score, but registered an assist

Liverpool retained the intensity in their attacks in the second half as well. They were particularly mobile through the inside-right channel as Salah made repeated forays into the penalty box. The Egyptian forward came close on a few occasions, but could not find the net. His inability to score meant he finished behind Tottenham’s Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot for the 2020-21 season.

However, Salah did contribute to Liverpool’s cause by registering an assist in the 74th minute. He played a quick one-two with Giorginio Wijnaldum and then passed the ball to Mane, who found the back of the net with a powerful shot. It was Mane’s 16th goal of the season. Crystal Palace made some sporadic attacks thereafter, but could not penetrate the Liverpool defense.