- Evening Standard
Patrick Vieira’s fury is justified but Liverpool loss should provoke Crystal Palace regret
Patrick Vieira accused the officials of big-team bias after Crystal Palace were on the wrong end of two abysmal refereeing decisions during yesterday’s defeat to Liverpool. For much of the opening 45 minutes at Selhurst Park, Palace were cautious out of possession and panicked with it, a combination which invited Liverpool pressure and gave them no chance of relieving it as they struggled to gain a foothold in the game and, ultimately, conceded twice, first to Virgil van Dijk’s header and then to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s back-post strike. Granted, the fear with which they played was easily justified, given Liverpool ran out 7-0 winners on their last visit to this corner of south London, and it goes without saying that few sides expect to take on Jurgen Klopp’s team and not spend a fair stint under the pump.
