Liverpool have suffered defeat in the Community Shield, starting their season with penalty heartache against Crystal Palace at Wembley.It finished 2-2 as Liverpool and Palace couldn’t be separated in normal time, with Hugo Ekitike scoring on his debut and Jeremie Frimpong repeating the trick not long after.Still, Palace twice fought back from behind to force penalties, with Oliver Glasner’s men then edging the Premier League champions 3-2.It wasn’t the best display from Arne Slot’s men, who clearly have areas they still need to improve in if they want to retain their Premier League crown and also progress in other major competitions.Read on for our look at how Liverpool performed against Palace…Liverpool player ratings in defeat vs PalaceHugo Ekitike celebrates scoring Liverpool’s opening goal against Crystal Palace (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)Alisson Becker – (6.5/10) – He won’t be too happy to have conceded two goals, but neither of them were really Alisson’s fault, as he did the best he could in this tricky game where his defence slightly let him down.Jeremie Frimpong – (7/10) – A pretty exciting debut overall for Liverpool’s new right-back, who got forward to good effect for much of the match, including to chip Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson with a superb debut strike in the 20th minute.Milos Kerkez – (5.5/10) – Not really as impressive as Frimpong on the opposite flank, Milos Kerkez seemed to struggle with the threat of Eagles right-back Daniel Munoz, limiting what he could do going forward.Virgil van Dijk – (3/10) – Really poor from such an experienced and important player, Van Dijk gave away the penalty for Palace’s first goal and was caught out for their second. He’ll need to do a lot better once the season gets going or Liverpool might question if they were right to award him with a new contract.Ibrahima Konate – (6/10) – Not his best performance overall, even if he was slightly let down by Van Dijk having an uncharacteristically bad afternoon next to him.Curtis Jones – (6/10) – Did his best in a slightly unfamiliar role filling in for Ryan Gravenberch, but it always meant he was unlikely to show his best qualities. Some neat passes, but often too safe as he opted to keep it simple.Dominik Szoboszlai – (6/10) – Not quite as convincing as one imagines Alexis Mac Allister might’ve been if he’d started. May also have fared better with the more familiar combination of Gravenberch alongside him.More Stories / Latest NewsArne Slot responds to pre-match tribute to late Liverpool star Diogo Jota being interrupted & cut shortAug 10 2025, 18:54Report: Former club ready to smash their transfer record to sign Chelsea starAug 10 2025, 18:47Liverpool player ratings: Salah & Van Dijk weakest performers but new signings impress in Community ShieldAug 10 2025, 18:37Florian Wirtz – (8/10) – A really impressive debut from Wirtz, who set up the first goal for Hugo Ekitike and who generally caused Palace problems throughout, earning special praise from Henry Winter.Mohamed Salah – (4/10) – Really quiet from Salah this afternoon, with the Egyptian superstar also missing his penalty in the shoot-out. Not the Salah we saw last season and not the kind of performance Liverpool will want after working so hard to tie him down to a new contract.Cody Gakpo – (5/10) – Didn’t offer enough in attack, with one move breaking down because of his poor decision-making. Scored in the shoot-out, but LFC will want to see much more from him overall.Hugo Ekitike – (8/10) – Scored a superbly-taken goal early on and generally linked up well with fellow new signing Wirtz. Very promising signs for the season ahead, even if he couldn’t quite do enough to help Liverpool to a victory here.Subs: Wataru Endo (6/10), Alexis Mac Allister (5/10) Harvey Elliott N/A, Andrew Robertson N/AThe post Liverpool player ratings: Salah & Van Dijk weakest performers but new signings impress in Community Shield appeared first on CaughtOffside.