Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace was shrouded in controversy, as the Crystal Palace consolation goal at Anfield should arguably not have stood, as Daniel Munoz powered home a second-half effort while Freddie Woodman lay injured on the pitch.
The reigning Premier League champions would have entered into the Premier League contest on Saturday afternoon with nerves firmly on their side, with Crystal Palace winning the last three meetings between the two teams.
This horrible hex has now been lifted, thankfully, with Arne Slot‘s men getting over the line to a 3-1 win, as goals from Alexander Isak, Andy Robertson, and Florian Wirtz sealed the victory.
The tension at Anfield was finally broken by a flash of brilliance from Florian Wirtz, whose exquisite late effort put the result beyond doubt. The German’s composure in the final moments provided a stark contrast to a frantic affair, acting as the definitive blow that ended Palace’s hopes of a comeback.
The home crowd would have also been over the moon with the performance of Freddie Woodman in goal for their side, as the stand-in goalkeeper pulled off five important saves to ensure Palace only scored once across the 90 minutes.
To his immense frustration, Woodman’s clean sheet was snatched away in the 71st minute under a cloud of controversy. As Daniel Muñoz powered home a goal for the visitors, the Anfield crowd waited for a whistle that never came.
Despite Woodman being visibly incapacitated on the turf, referee Andy Madley allowed play to continue a decision that left both the goalkeeper and his teammates incensed as the Eagles were gifted a route back into the game.
The goal stood to the outrage of the Reds masses watching on, and Robertson gave his thoughts on the much-talked-about incident at the full-time whistle.
Robertson’s thoughts on Munoz’s controversial goal
Robertson’s overriding emotion at the full-time whistle should have been one of ecstasy, as the inconsistent Reds managed to follow up their excellent Merseyside Derby victory with a win against one of their bogey teams.
Indeed, he noted he was “delighted” that he could get on the scoresheet, as the end of his illustrious Liverpool career grows ever closer.
Still, the manner in which the Munoz goal was scored would have left a bad taste in the mouth, but the Scottish full-back didn’t blame the Palace defender for putting the chance away in his post-match comments.
Instead, his anger was directed at the man in the middle.
He said, right after the dust had settled on the Palace win, in response to Liverpool fans chanting that Munoz was a “cheat“: “I don’t think he looks up. Woody went down, tried to get back up and went down again. Munoz is looking down trying to concentrate on kicking the ball.
“My opinion is the ref should stop the game but goalkeepers are protected too much by the refs. Thankfully, we were the ones who scored the next and not them.
“The number of times I’ve played against a team and then a player is on the floor and the referee blows the whistle. It happened against Man Utd when Mac Allister was on the floor, they played on and Macca needed five stitches afterwards.
“I don’t blame them, by the way, the referee should stop the game.
“It’s going to become a tactic to pretend you’re injured so the referee stops the play. He did it about four times today.
“Munoz, I think it’s 50-50 because some players wouldn’t have taken the shot. Some players would stop and some would score. I don’t blame him as much as I blame the referee.”
Robertson’s comments do make a lot of sense, as the Palace goalscorer was simply just playing to the whistle, as Madley hadn’t intervened to bring a halt to proceedings.
At the end of the day, this moment can be quickly forgotten about, as Liverpool went on to collect their 17th Premier League victory of the season, with Robertson taking time out of his post-match media duties to also praise the heroics of Woodman.
He said: “I thought he was outstanding.
“The lads and coaching staff had so much faith in him because we see him every day. I’m just gutted he didn’t get the clean sheet.”
The long-standing Reds servant was right to remind everyone of the ex-Preston North End stopper’s phenomenal display, away from this controversial incident, with Woodman putting in a confident and composed performance throughout, against his boyhood club.
Arne Slot will undoubtedly feel more confident handing Freddie Woodman the gloves for Liverpool’s next outing, though much depends on the recovery of Alisson Becker.
With a high-stakes trip to face bitter rivals Manchester United on the horizon, the Reds boss will be praying for a more straightforward afternoon, one free of the officiating drama and injury scares that plagued the win over Palace.
