For the visitors, the absence of suspended Hugo Ekitike handed Alexander Isak a first Premier League start following his £125m move from Newcastle United. With £116m man Florian Wirtz recalled into a floating attacking role by Slot, Palace capitalised on the Reds still finding their bearings by scoring after just eight minutes. ‌And when the Brazilian was again beaten, the post came to Liverpool’s rescue from Mateta’s audacious 20-yard curler. Reds boss Slot ditched the Wirtz experiment at half-time with the German shifted into his more regular number 10 position as Cody Gakpo was introduced as a recognised left winger. Liverpool gradually improved and Wirtz latched on to a Dominik Szoboszlai cross to force Henderson into a save.