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Liverpool cruised past Arsenal 3-1 in a pulsating encounter at Anfield on Saturday evening. The game had a good flow to it and produced moments of magic as well as madness.
The hosts raced off the blocks and started turning the screw early. However, the away side looked a threat on the counter attack and went close courtesy Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
However, the Reds firmly got into the ascendancy once Joel Matip headed home from a corner in the 41st minute.
Three minutes after the break, David Luiz contrived to pull Mohamed Salah’s shirt in the penalty box, giving away a spot kick. The Egyptian made no mistake and thumped the ball home to give the home side a two-goal cushion.
Liverpool’s advantage was tripled in the 58th minute when Salah raced through on goal and finished past a hapless Bernd Leno.
Lucas Torreira got a goal back for Arsenal in the 85th minute but that merely acted as a consolation rather than a catalyst for an improbable comeback.
Here is a look at the talking points from the game.
#5 Arsenal and Liverpool produce a fascinating tactical battle in the 1st half
Unai Emery sprung a surprise with his starting line-up, naming Alexandre Lacazette on the bench and preferring a 4-4-2 system. The formation meant that the visitors unleashed the raw pace of Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front in addition to stocking their middle third with four central midfielders.
Inevitably, the Gunners played a narrow system which allowed the likes of Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold to overlap for fun. However, surprisingly, Arsenal were content to allow the Liverpool duo to do so and instead focussed on restricting room for the hosts’ flamboyant front three.
The tactic worked a charm for the majority of the first half as Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were denied adequate service for long stretches.
Subsequently, the Reds tried to adopt a more incisive approach and that led to them turning over possession on a few occasions. The Gunners used those openings brilliantly to release Aubameyang and Pepe into space. The strategy even enabled the African pair to fashion a couple of decent opportunities for themselves.
In retaliation, Liverpool pushed their central defenders a little wider to deal with the threat of Arsenal’s forward partnership, with Virgil Van Dijk in particular, actively shepherding Pepe in the latter stages of the first half.
Thus, it was slightly ironic that a battle of such high tactical quality provided the initial breakthrough courtesy a set-piece.
Over the years, Arsenal and Liverpool have served up some high-scoring thrillers, though the former hasn’t quite been on the right end of those score-lines recently.
Yet, on Saturday, the sides immersed themselves in a titanic tactical tussle in the first period and that facet alone made the game a joy to witness.
#4 David Luiz showcases the two sides of his defensive coin
Through the summer of 2019, Arsenal searched fervently and frantically for a centre-back to ease their defensive woes. The aforementioned task became slightly more arduous when club captain, Laurent Koscielny decided to forego years of service and push for a move away.
Consequently, the Gunners brought on board David Luiz and Kieran Tierney on deadline day to bolster their back line. While the Emirates faithful might’ve been yearning for a younger defender than the Brazilian, there was no denying that the ex-Chelsea player would bring tons of experience and leadership to the Arsenal set-up.
Luiz started his North London tenure soundly too and turned in an accomplished display against Burnley. However, one always reckoned that his acid test would arrive at Anfield. And, it’s fair to say that he didn’t quite cover himself in glory, especially in the second period.
The Brazilian held his own in the first half and read Liverpool’s offensive moves efficiently. Additionally, he was a towering presence in the penalty box and headed numerous crosses away. However, everything unravelled rather spectacularly once the sides changed ends.
Luiz conspired to give away a daft penalty, minutes after the restart when he pulled Salah back blatantly after being flummoxed by the Egyptian’s passing interchange with Firmino.
A few minutes later, the defender sold himself down the river when he ventured high up the pitch in an effort to nick the ball off Salah. The Reds forward skipped past the static Brazilian expertly and raced away from him before curling the ball past Bernd Leno.
Throughout his career, the centre-back has alternated between the ridiculous and the spectacular. Unfortunately for him and Arsenal, against Liverpool, he flourished flickeringly before floundering emphatically.
And while the debate of whether the Gunners were right to sign the Brazilian might well rage deep into the night, his performance on Sunday only emphasised the double-edged defensive sword David Luiz possesses.
#3 The Gunners misfire in the final third
As the 2019-20 season dawned, there was a general consensus that Arsenal boasted one of the most fearsome attacking tridents in the league. To put things into perspective, the already effervescent Aubameyang and Lacazette were set to complemented by Pepe, a winger who conjured incredible numbers last term, second only in terms of assists and goals to a certain Lionel Messi.
Yet, when the chances presented itself at Anfield, the Gunners were guilty of fluffing their lines.
The visitors failed to take advantage of a mistake by Adrian early in the first half when the Spaniard gifted Aubameyang an opportunity to open the scoring. Though the Gabonese had to bring the ball down considerably before pulling the trigger, one expected the current Golden Boot holder to hit the target, if not make the net bulge.
After all, the goal was gaping at that juncture with Adrian somewhere in the vicinity of the penalty spot.
A little later in the half, Pepe pounced on a rare Jordan Henderson error to run clear of the Englishman. The Ivorian then superbly danced past the challenge of Robertson before going eyeball to eyeball with the Liverpool keeper. However, Pepe, in an attempt to beat the goalkeeper to his right, only mustered a tame shot straight at Adrian.
At that point, the game was still level and had Arsenal taken the lead, the match could’ve assumed a different path altogether.
But, frustratingly for the North London outfit, their most potent weapons misfired, ultimately leading to their downfall.
#2 Mohamed Salah lays down his marker for the season
Liverpool enjoyed a scintillating 2019-20 season and were rather unlucky to have ended their domestic campaign empty handed. During the term, the Reds were able to call upon their galaxy of stars, which included Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian returned late for pre-season and his absence significantly hamstrung Jurgen Klopp’s team in those friendlies. And, come the game against Arsenal, Salah just hammered home how important he is to Liverpool’s irresistible machine.
Though he was deprived of the ball in the early stages of the match, the forward rarely lost his concentration and kept prancing for potential cracks in Arsenal’s defensive wall.
Salah was rewarded for his persistence in the formative stages of the second half when he deceived Luiz with a quick one-two and drew the foul. He stepped up and deliciously whipped the resulting spot kick into the top-corner to double his league tally for the season.
Yet, akin to all great players, that goal didn’t satiate his thirst, rather it ignited him to sparkle further.
In the 58th minute, he collected the ball near the half-way line and left Luiz for dead with an immaculate burst of pace. He cut inside Nacho Monreal, carried his run into the box and slotted the ball coolly past Leno.
For a part of last season, there were quite a few people doubting Salah’s ability on the big stage, with his record against the Premier League’s big boys causing a furrowed brow or two.
However, the Egyptian has started silencing his critics, especially since the game against Bayern Munich in March 2019.
And, as for his proud Golden Boot record, one reckons he doesn’t intend to let go of that, anytime soon.
#1 Liverpool throw down the Premier League gauntlet
The Reds were denied their maiden Premier League title last term, when Manchester City pipped them by the tiniest of margins. Though Liverpool managed to triumph in the Champions League, many were left wondering what could’ve been, domestically.
After all, several even felt that they would never get a better chance to clinch the trophy that has remained painfully elusive.
Yet, three games into the new season, Liverpool seem primed to prove that notion wrong. And, after a controlled display against Arsenal, very few people would argue against it.
Liverpool personified perseverance on Saturday and kept banging at the Gunners’ door before eventually breaking it open.
The hosts were taken aback a touch by the visitors’ left-field tactics but the former portrayed its own tactical astuteness to adapt and mount a substantial challenge.
Though there were a few shaky moments defensively, the Reds never really looked in danger of getting their spotless home record blemished.
Moreover, the home side moved through the gears when the situation demanded and managed the game adroitly, thereby reducing a top four contender to minimal efforts on goal.
Ever since the inception of the Premier League, Liverpool’s inability to lay their hands on the land’s biggest prize has often become a source of despair for them and one of mockery for rival fans.
Yet, it could all change this term.
And while toppling Manchester City is certainly not going to be a cakewalk, Klopp’s charges are ensuring that they are putting the early pressure on the champions, and assertively at that.
