Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool had lost five of their last six football matches heading into the round of 16 of the League Cup at home to Crystal Palace.
Then there was another setback for coach Arne Slot and his team.
Striker Alexander Isak – who was signed from Newcastle for around 1.7 billion kronor – is suffering from a groin injury and was missing for the second match in a row in Liverpool's squad.
Several stars were missing
Other star names such as Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike were also left out of the match squad against Crystal Palace.
Compared to Saturday's loss against Brentford (2-3) in the league, Slot selected ten new players in the starting eleven - possibly an indication of how highly the Dutchman values the League Cup.
The stars were needed against Premier League rivals Crystal Palace in any case. In the 41st minute, Ismaila Sarr was able to make it 1-0 after the home defense lost its mark.
Four minutes later, the Senegalese extended their lead to 2–0 after a pattern attack by the away team.
Liverpool failed to turn things around in the second half. It didn't get any easier after Amara Nallo was sent off in the 79th minute. Instead, Yéremy Pino made it 3–0 shortly afterwards and equalised for the quarter-final ticket.
Gyökeres rested
Now it's all over for Liverpool in the League Cup. The big club is seventh in the Premier League and has two wins and one loss in the Champions League.
Swedish national team striker Viktor Gyökeres was rested on the bench for the entire match when Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0.
Anthony Elanga's Newcastle won the Swedish meeting with Lucas Bergvall and Tottenham 2–0.
Other teams that have advanced to the quarter-finals are Chelsea, Manchester City, Fulham, Brentford and Cardiff.
