Florian Wirtz Ends Premier League Goal Drought as Liverpool Beat Crystal Palace

Posted : 08 November 2026

Florian Wirtz scored his first Premier League goal of the 2026/2027 season as Liverpool returned to winning ways with a convincing 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

The Reds bounced back from consecutive defeats against Arsenal and Fenerbahce, delivering an important performance to ease some of the pressure on manager Andoni Iraola.

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring shortly before half-time, while Wirtz doubled Liverpool's advantage early in the second period. Alexander Isak added a third goal late in the match before Eddie Nketiah converted a stoppage-time penalty for the hosts.

The victory moved Liverpool up to fourth place in the Premier League standings and marked their fourth away league win of the campaign.

Liverpool started positively, with Mac Allister testing Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson inside the opening minute. However, the hosts gradually found their rhythm and came close to taking the lead through Yeremy Pino, whose curling effort struck the crossbar in the 18th minute.

Palace appeared to have broken the deadlock in the 33rd minute when Jorgen Strand Larsen found the net, but his celebrations were cut short after the assistant referee raised the offside flag. A subsequent VAR review confirmed the decision.

The hosts continued to threaten, with Daichi Kamada also forcing an important save from Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

However, Liverpool capitalised on Palace's missed opportunities in the 40th minute. Dominik Szoboszlai delivered a dangerous free-kick into the penalty area, allowing Mac Allister to rise above the defence and direct a header into the net.

The goal gave the visitors a valuable advantage heading into the interval, despite Palace having enjoyed several promising moments in the first half.

Liverpool strengthened their position nine minutes after the restart when Wirtz found the net in the 54th minute. Bradley Barcola delivered a low cross into the penalty area, and the German midfielder calmly guided the ball into the bottom corner.

The goal was particularly significant for Wirtz, whose previous Premier League strike had also come against Crystal Palace in April.

Palace attempted to respond and created several opportunities to reduce the deficit. Pino came close to scoring with less than 15 minutes remaining, but Alisson produced an excellent save to deny him before recovering quickly to stop Jefferson Lerma's follow-up effort. Nketiah subsequently sent another opportunity over the crossbar.

Liverpool eventually put the result beyond doubt in the 89th minute when Isak finished from close range after a quick attacking move. His effort took a deflection before finding the back of the net, giving the visitors a commanding three-goal lead.

Crystal Palace managed to score a consolation goal deep into stoppage time after a collision involving substitute Dario Osorio and Liverpool defender Milos Kerkez resulted in a penalty.

Nketiah stepped forward and confidently converted the spot-kick, but his goal could not prevent Palace from suffering another disappointing defeat.

The result represented a much-needed response from Liverpool following their recent struggles, while Palace manager Pierre Sage faces increasing pressure after another setback left his team at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Florian Wirtz Ends Premier League Goal Drought as Liverpool Beat Crystal Palace

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