FA Cup winners Crystal Palace claimed a second major scalp at Wembley in less than three months after beating Liverpool in the Community Shield.
It was a result which posed a significant question for Reds head coach Arne Slot.
Slot makes a case for defence
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot accepts his team must tighten up defensively if they are to stand a chance of retaining their Premier League title.
Despite twice taking the lead in the Community Shield, sloppy defending through the middle allowed Crystal Palace to equalise twice leading to penalties, where the Eagles won 3-2.
Questions have already been raised over whether Slot needs to bring in another centre-back – they have been linked with Palace’s Marc Guehi, who is in the final year of his contract – as the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen has left him with just three in that position.
Liverpool have not kept a clean sheet in pre-season, conceding 10 times in five senior games – including four against AC Milan – and Slot knows that needs attention.
“I think we are able to create more now but we are conceding more at the moment and if you want to compete to win the league, one of the things is not to concede chances, let alone goals,” he told TNT Sports.
Slot plays down interruption of Jota tribute
Slot played down the interruption of the minute’s silence in memory of Diogo Jota by Palace fans at Wembley.
Tributes were paid to the Portugal international, who died in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva last month, and they were honoured with wreaths laid on the pitch before kick-off.
A minority of Eagles fans broke the minute’s silence, eliciting a strong response at the other end of the pitch, as well as from other Eagles supporters who tried to silence those not respecting the tribute.
“I don’t think there’s a bad intention to it, because the fans of Crystal Palace and everywhere around the world have paid huge respect to Diogo and Andre and this was I think unlucky but I don’t think there was a bad intention in it,” said Slot.
Palace to learn European fate
Community Shield winners Crystal Palace will learn on Monday which European competition they will play in this season, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) set to announce its decision on their appeal.
The Eagles, who qualified for the Europa League by winning last season’s FA Cup, were demoted to the Conference League on July 11 after falling foul of UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership.
Regulations state clubs had to be able to demonstrate by March 1 that no individual or legal entity had control or influence over more than one club in the same competition and UEFA determined American businessman John Textor’s interest in Palace and Lyon meant only one could enter the Europa League, with the latter’s higher league position taking priority.
Palace are seeking to take the place of either Lyon or Nottingham Forest, the club moved up following the Eagles’ demotion.
“We believe, for a number of reasons, it isn’t the right decision and we have put that case forward strongly. We think we have a very solid case,” chairman Steve Parish told beIN Sports before the team’s win at Wembley.
Newcastle consider striker options
Newcastle will wait for a resolution to Alexander Isak’s future before deciding whether to move for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, the PA news agency understands.
Isak is currently not training with Eddie Howe’s squad after a £110million bid from Liverpool was rejected and he is not expected to feature in Saturday’s Premier League opener against Aston Villa.
The club missed out on signing striker Benjamin Sesko, who joined Manchester United on Saturday from RB Leipzig, but after Chelsea told Jackson on Friday that they are willing to sell it has opened up a possible solution to the impasse.
