Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted his squad are short of confidence following a month that has seen the club slip to four straight defeats.
On the back of three losses, Liverpool failed to stop the rot at Selhurt Park, suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of a Crystal Palace side that are still one of the favourites for relegation with much of the online Premier League betting. The result leaves Liverpool 12th in the Premier League table, already with six defeats to their name - the same amount of losses the club suffered during the entire 2013/14 season - and there is now a real fear the Merseysiders could already be out of the race for a top-four spot.
Liverpool had got off to the best possible start against Palace, taking an early lead within the first two minutes through Rickie Lambert's first league goal for the club he joined in the summer. But instead of going on and building on their early lead, Liverpool were simply outplayed throughout the rest of the game, with Dwight Gayle equalising for the hosts before Joe Ledley made it 2-1 and then Mile Jedinak added some real gloss to the win with a sensational free kick. While Palace climbed out of the relegation zone after the game, Liverpool were forced to make the long journey home knowing this looks set to be a significantly different season than last year.
Following a run of just one win in seven in all competitions, Rodgers has made it clear he is well aware confidence could now be a problem for his squad, but the Liverpool boss has already admitted the team need to start doing the basics better if they are to turn the corner. From the on-going issues with the Liverpool defence to the misfiring forwards and below-par midfielders, there isn't an area of this squad that is currently performing at a level they need to be if things are going to get much better this season.
Rodgers wasn't able to complain about the 3-1 defeat to Palace. After going behind the Lambert's early goal, the hosts looked like the stronger team during the rest of the game and made Liverpool look like a very average team indeed. The most alarming problems for Liverpool were just how much Palace outworked them in every area. Marouane Chamakh, who has spent much of his time in England as a punch-line, covered 12.29 kilometres - more than anybody else on the pitch.
But it wasn't just the work-rate of Palace that proved too much for Liverpool to handle, but the sheer physicality of Neil Warnock's side had their opponents on the back front as soon as Dwight Gayle had equalised. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher came out after the game to claim the defeat was another example of Rodgers' side being "bullied" by their opponents this season, something that wasn't the case last season.
With the season preparing to enter the busy festive period, Rodgers could well find himself coming under some huge pressure if he can't stop the rot and start picking up some victories very soon.
