AcademyU18s match report: Liverpool beaten by Crystal Palace in Premier League Cup opener

Jayden Danns clawed a goal back for the young Reds in first-half-stoppage time to make it 3-1 to the hosts at the break.

However, Palace, led by a hat-trick from Zach Marsh, would go on to secure a convincing win in Group G.

U18s head coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson told Liverpoolfc.com: “We actually played quite well in a lot of the moments but we made quite a few errors which ultimately led to them taking their chances and scoring, so it was really difficult.

“There are a lot of positives from the game, an awful lot of positives to come from it, but obviously it is disappointing to lose, especially by that scoreline.

“A lot of things we have asked the team to try to work on they did well today but obviously in other areas of the game they struggled a little bit. There is still lots to work on, of course, and we’re back to it on Monday.”

Danns’ goal was his fifth in four appearances this season and Bridge-Wilkinson continued: “It was a good finish, a nice goal. There were some other chances in the game – not just for Jayden but for us as a team – that we would have liked to have taken.”

TEAM

Liverpool U18s: Misciur, Pitt, Gyimah, Nallo (Furnell-Gill, 70), Lucky, Trueman (Laffey, 70), Nyoni (Onanuga, 62), Ahmed, Morrison, Kone-Doherty, Danns.

Unused subs: Giblin, Morana.

NEXT UP

Liverpool U18s’ next match comes after the international break, with a trip to Blackburn Rovers for their fourth league outing of the season scheduled for Saturday September 16 (11am BST kick-off).

Meanwhile, the young Reds’ second Premier League Cup Group G game sees them host Fulham at the Academy on October 21.