Arne Slot may have solved one of his biggest Liverpool headaches in Crystal Palace loss
Liverpool saw their chances of winning the Carabao Cup fade after losing 3-0 against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
The Reds entered the showdown at Anfield with four losses in their previous five matches, while a brace from Ismaila Sarr and a second-half Yeremy Pino strike extended that woeful run.
Palace’s victory on Merseyside didn’t come as a surprise to many, though, as Arne Slot made 10 changes from the team that started Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League.
That included starts for teenage trio Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, whilst some other fringe players were offered a rare opportunity.
One of those was right-back Calvin Ramsay, who was one few bright lights on another difficult night for Liverpool.
Calvin Ramsay shines for Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
From the moment Trent Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid, Slot has struggled to find a consistent performer for his right-back role.
Jeremie Frimpong signed for Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen, but the early stages of his Anfield career have been blighted by injuries.
Meanwhile, academy graduate Conor Bradley has been criticised for his performances and has looked like a shadow of the player who broke onto the scene in 2021.
So, when Ramsay was given the nod at right wing-back, making his first senior appearance for the Reds since January 2023, the 22-year-old saw that as an opportunity to impress.
Ramsay has experienced an incredibly difficult few years with injuries while failing to make the desired impact in loan spells at Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic and Kilmarnock.
There appeared to be no way back for the Scotsman at Liverpool, but after producing a solid performance on his return against Crystal Palace, he arguably deserves more chances in defence.
| Calvin Ramsay stats vs Crystal Palace |
| 90 minutes played |
| 7 recoveries |
| 5/7 ground duels won |
| 5 fouls drawn |
| 41/50 accurate passes (82%) |
| 82 touches |
Ramsay was fearless in possession and always looked to break lines with forward passing while handling himself defensively with five ground duels won.
What Arne Slot said about Ramsay
A solid audition against Premier League opposition means Ramsay could emerge as a genuine option for Liverpool, and that is reinforced by Slot’s comments.
Speaking after the game, the Dutchman was impressed by his composure on the ball and wanted to highlight his performance as a positive despite losing 3-0.
“I think Calvin had a very, very decent performance. Calm on the ball,” Slot said. “I don’t know if I said it over here but [in] the first half-hour, I think we had better chances than them actually and he was part of that.
“He played with composure. A decent-to-good game for him. And I said also afterwards [to Calvin and Kieran Morrison] if you make your debut after a 3-0 loss, you might feel very, very disappointed – but the two of you can be quite happy with the way you’ve played in your first time here at Anfield.”
At just the age of 22, Ramsay has plenty of time to become the player Liverpool thought they’d signed from Aberdeen in 2022.