Liverpool Beat Palace 3-1, Piling Pressure on Sage

Liverpool took all three points from Selhurst Park with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, and the result leaves Pierre Sage's side with a fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League.

For Palace, the losing run is now the central story. Four straight league defeats is a hard stretch for any club, and it tends to get harder with each match, because every loss shrinks the margin for the next game. The supporters at Selhurst Park will want to see a clear response, and the pressure on Sage grows while the results do not turn.

Liverpool left south London having won away from home against a side that badly needed points. Visiting teams often find Selhurst Park a tough place to play, so taking three points there is a useful result, whatever the wider picture for either club.

The bigger question for Palace is whether the defeats point to something structural or whether a few moments went against them. Either way, the next few fixtures will decide how quickly the mood around the club can change. A fifth straight defeat would make the conversation about the manager's position much louder, while a result would give Sage some breathing room.

Sage now has to find answers quickly. The table will keep moving, and a side that cannot stop the slide is one that begins to lose the confidence of its own fans.