Liverpool-Crystal Palace Verdict: Reds Rally Into FA Cup Quarterfinals

Liverpool has conquered its house of horrors and now heads confidently toward the future.

Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday at Selhurst Park in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Second-half goals from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana overturned the Eagles’ lead and booked the Reds a place in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Liverpool will learn its last-eight opponent Monday and play the pivotal game either on March 7 or 8. For now, the Reds can celebrate the fact they have banished the spell of a venue that has cost them so much in the last 12 months.

Liverpool outplayed Crystal Palace from start to finish yet conceded the game’s first goal against the run of play after a defensive error. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet parried Martin Skrtel’s mistaken backward header straight to Frazier Campbell, who fired the ball into the open goal. Some might have been thinking “here we go again” after Campbell’s 15th-minute goal, but the Reds’ furious, scoring-chance-filled response showed they had other ideas.

Liverpool had 15 shots in the half-hour period that followed Campbell’s goal. The Reds’ efforts either missed the target, were blocked by defenders or were saved by goalkeeper Julian Speroni, but the flurry made it clear they wouldn’t be chasing the game for long.

Sturridge restored parity just four minutes into the second half. Jordan Henderson assisted Sturridge’s volley with a sublime diagonal pass into Crystal Palace’s goal mouth. Sturridge volleyed past Speroni for his second goal in five games since returning from injury.

Not only has Sturridge’s return brought back Liverpool’s cutting edge. It also allows manager Brendan Rodgers to discover new attacking combinations, which have helped the Reds overpower opponents in the second halves of games. Liverpool-Crystal Palace followed this new pattern, as Rodgers replaced Lazar Markovic with Mario Balotelli at halftime.

Balotelli started the game-winning sequence with a powerful, low free kick, which Julian Speroni saved. Lallana reacted quickest, arriving at the rebound and side-footing it past Speroni. Lallana emphatically marked his return to the starting lineup (after a two-game absence), demonstrating the ever-increasing depth of quality Rodgers currently has at his disposal.

Crystal Palace doesn’t have such luxuries. Manager Alan Pardew made five changes to the team that earned a midweek draw against Newcastle. The hosts started brightly but faded badly as the game progressed. They had lost one of seven games under Pardew coming into Saturday’s contest, but their mix of starters and reserves were no match for a full-strength Liverpool, which earned its second comeback win in 10 days.

Liverpool now has lost just twice in 22 games since its last meeting with Crystal Palace. The 3-1 loss on Nov. 23 marked both the low point and the turning point of Liverpool’s season. It’s hard to overstate the symbolic value of Saturday’s result.

Momentum and confidence now are driving Liverpool’s forward progress. Liverpool advances to the FA Cup quarterfinal — something it failed to do during the near-dream season of 2013-14. The Reds have reached the final the last four times they progressed past the fifth round (1996, 2001, 2006 and 2012).

That’s good news for the Reds and injured captain Steven Gerrard, who hopes to lift the FA Cup on May 30 — the day of his 35th birthday — at Wembley Stadium.