WHAT A TOUGH WEEK FOR REDS

LONDON. – Liverpool’s difficult week continued after being held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday night.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were looking to bounce back from their 5-2 loss to Real Madrid in midweek to maintain their pursuit of the top four in the Premier League.

Crystal Palace entered the match without a win in their last seven Premier League games, but nearly took the lead when Jean-Philippe Mateta struck the crossbar from close range.

Following the clash, Sportsmail has rated the performance of the Reds’ players…

Liverpool (4-3-3):

Alisson – Hurried an early clearance which put his side in trouble, but made up for it by saving from Jean-Philippe Mateta. Had a quiet game otherwise. 6

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Twice caught out dallying in defence in the first half, he was fortunate that Jean-Philippe Mateta did not punish his lack of certainty. 5

Virgil van Dijk – An armchair ride alongside his central defensive partner for the most part, he cut off the supply lines to Jean-Philippe Mateta. 6

Joel Matip – Handled the Palace runners into the area well and almost served up a first-half assist with a clever chipped cross which Diogo Jota should have converted. 7

Andrew Robertson – Largely untroubled in defence, he drove forward from left-back when he could, but didn’t have much help from Diogo Jota in front of him. 7

Naby Keita – Largely ineffective, apart from conceding a stream of free-kicks with poorly-timed tackles, it was no surprise that Harvey Elliott replaced him at half-time. 5

Jordan Henderson – Playing at the base of Liverpool’s midfield diamond, his most prominent contribution was unwittingly blocking Alexander-Arnold’s goal-bound shot. 6

Cody Gakpo – Energetic and dynamic in trying to force Palace errors, he appeared to be a one-man Liverpool pressing machine at times. 8

James Milner – Gave Liverpool an attacking base alongside Henderson and was his usual hard-working self. Like his teammates, short on creativity, however. 6

Mohamed Salah – Dragged an early shot wide when fed by Gakpo, he was unlucky to curl a 49th-minute shot against the Palace bar. 6

Diogo Jota – Too often a peripheral figure, he should have scored in the first half when he waited for, rather than met, a cross and wastefully struck the post. 5

SUBSTITUTES

Harvey Elliott – 7

Fabinho – 6

Roberto Firmino – 6

Stefan Bajcetic – 6 – Mailonline.