Arne Slot’s line-up gamble backfired as a much-changed Liverpool lost at home to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup last 16 – the Reds’ sixth defeat in seven games.
Slot named three teenagers in his starting line-up and a further five among his substitutes as he made 10 changes from the team that was beaten 3-2 at Brentford on Saturday.
But poor defending allowed Palace’s Ismaila Sarr to score twice in four minutes at the end of the first half to take the game away from the hosts, before Yeremy Pino added a late third with a low, curled finish.
With no one older than 21 on the bench and first-team players Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike all absent, Liverpool made a tame exit in a competition they had won twice in the past four seasons.
Federico Chiesa, who scored in Liverpool’s loss to Newcastle in last season’s final in March, had two good opportunities but fired one attempt over with another saved by Walter Benitez.
An error from England defender Joe Gomez allowed Sarr to score the opener, before the Senegal attacker got his second soon after – having been given far too much space when collecting Pino’s pass.
Liverpool’s miserable evening then saw 18-year-old defender Amara Nallo shown a straight red card in the 79th minute for hauling down Justin Devenny who was racing through on goal. Pino’s third sealed a convincing win for the Eagles.
Wednesday’s loss continues a dismal run of form for the Premier League champions – who have a tough run of games coming up.
They host Aston Villa in the league on Saturday, Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and then travel to Manchester City on Sunday, 9 November.
Liverpool analysis: Youthful Reds limp out of cup
Slot – who led the Reds to the league title in his first season at Anfield – will use their fixtures in the next week and a half as as justification for his team selection.
The 10-time League Cup winners’ starting line-up included three teenagers – hugely exciting 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha and 18-year-old midfielders Trey Nyoni and Kieran Morrison.
However, Palace boss Oliver Glasner, whose side had already played 15 games in all competitions before this match, will have felt they had a glorious chance to progress when he saw the team sheets.
The Eagles named a strong-looking team, including captain Marc Guehi, whose potential £35m move to Liverpool collapsed on transfer deadline day in September after Palace failed to sign a replacement.
With Guehi out of contract in the summer, the Reds could well try again to sign him – and this match again highlighted Liverpool’s need to strengthen in defence.
Slot picked three central defenders – Andy Robertson, Gomez and Wataru Endo – while Milos Kerkez and Calvin Ramsay were at left and right-back respectively.
But the Liverpool boss, watching on from the edge of his technical area while getting soaked in heavy rain, will have been left disappointed with the goals his side conceded.
One bright spot for the Dutchman was the performance of Ngumoha, who became the club’s youngest Premier League scorer earlier this season with a late winner against Newcastle.
Ngumoha, operating on the left wing but allowed the freedom to move inside and run at the defence, repeatedly showed his skill and dribbling ability with the home crowd increasing the noise levels every time he touched the ball.
But none of the other fringe players were able to take their opportunity as Liverpool limped out of the competition.
Crystal Palace analysis: ‘Can we play you every week?’
Palace have now beaten Liverpool three times in three months – having defeated Slot’s side on penalties in the Community Shield in August and then won 2-1 in the league at Selhurst Park last month.
The Eagles have never reached the final of this competition, losing in the semi-finals on four occasions, most recently in 2001 – although they had never won the FA Cup or Community Shield before and have picked up both in a six-month golden spell in the club’s history.
After Sarr’s first-half double, they were happy to defend in numbers and let Liverpool have the majority of possession, with the hosts, despite noisy backing from their fans, not testing goalkeeper Benitez in the second half.
Any hope the Liverpool supporters had of fighting back ended when Nallo was sent off only 12 minutes after coming on for bringing down Devenny.
The excellent Pino then gave the scoreline a flattering feel with a third goal in the 88th minute as the Eagles fans joyfully mocked the hosts by chanting, “Can we play you every week?”
What’s next for both sides?
Liverpool entertain Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday (20:00 GMT kick-off), before hosting Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday (20:00 GMT) and then play at Manchester City on Sunday, 9 November in the Premier League (16:30 GMT).
Crystal Palace have three successive matches at Selhurst Park – against Brentford on Saturday (15:00 GMT), Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League on Thursday, 6 November (20:00 GMT) and then versus rivals Brighton on Sunday, 9 November (14:00 GMT).