Yes it was another defeat. Yes that leaves the team sitting second bottom, the worst of the three promoted clubs. But Ian Holloway was correct in saying that there were positives to take from the loss, and that building on that is going to be important for the season.
As Holloway discussed, Palace “won” the second-half 1-0, with Dwight Gayle’s near-post flick a reward for the team and their tactics of trying to attack Liverpool whenever possible. Having been 3-0 down at half time, those last 45 minutes showed that heads did not drop and the team continued to battle.
Six defeats in seven may not seem like something to build on, but when you consider that in those seven fixtures opponents have included Tottenham, and Manchester United and Liverpool away, it is promising to think that no-one has completely outplayed Palace.
Confidence is key and there is a lot to take from the second half at Anfield – for both the players and the supporters.
This season was always going to be a struggle and these first few fixtures have only highlighted this further. But there has not been the drubbing that many in the national media expected; in fact Palace can feel unlucky to have not picked up a point at Old Trafford.
As the squad gets more and more used to each other through training this will help develop the group. There were glimpses on Saturday, with a few chances that perhaps the Eagles could have done better with.
But as they continue to learn there is every possibility that performances like Saturday’s second half will become more frequent, and with that results should also begin to pick up.
There is still plenty of time in the season for things to turn around. Other than Sunderland, Palace have not faced any of the teams they will feel they can pick up points against at home yet. The next match will be one though, as the Eagles welcome Fulham to Selhurst.
Source: PalaceMAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
