Match Report Liverpool v Arsenal
Liverpool are back into the hunt of being among the top-4 of the premier league this season, as they managed to win convincingly against Arsenal by a healthy margin of 3-0. It added to their successful set of visits to London as they won their fifth game in London this season, out of their six visits. The only gamer they didn’t win was a draw against Fulham.
An early set-back for the Arsenal side came in the form of failure of fitness tests of Rowe and Bukayo Saka. Apart form these two young stars, the gunners fielded a full-strength side. In the other camp, the visitors continued to face a lengthy injury list. Yet they fielded a formidable side and were lucky enough to register victories.
Playing XIs
Arsenal XI: B. Leno, C. Chambers, R. Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Thomas, Ceballos, Pepe, Odegaard, Aubameyang and Lacazette
Liverpool Xi: Alisson, Robertson, Kabak Phillips, Arnold, Milner, Fabinho, Alcantara, Mane, Firmino and Salah.
The Game
It seemed like Liverpool were going to dominate the game right from the starting whistle as they had the better body language and seemed like a more stable side. Visitors came to registering their first goal of the night in the 15th minute as Fabinho took a right footed short from 30 yards margin, but the thunderbolt sailed just past the far post.
5 minutes later, in the 30th minute of the play, the same person Fabinho got a chance to score again and missed again as his shot from edge of the Arsenal’s box sailed past the far post again. Liverpool’s domination continued as in the 36th minute Arnold cut a beautiful ball through to Milner in the box, who took a brilliant first touch but couldn’t keep it on target. Perhaps he could have handled the pressure better to convert that one.
Hosts received another major blow just at the end of first half as Tierney collided with Milner and was forced to go off. Cedric Soares came in as a replacement.
The First half was done and dusted without any goal scoring as both sides continued their search for a goal but couldn’t find it. The score line at the end of first half remained 0-0.
The second half promised to be more exciting and eventful as Liverpool were expected to go for the kill and they did go for the kill, right from the word go.
In the 58th minute, Liverpool made an aggressive move, which made their attentions clear to one and all. Diogo Jota, the striker was brought in place of the defender Robertson. The aggressive move, as many anticipated, paid off straightaway.
After being on the field for only six minutes, Jota put his name on the scoresheet as he headed a trademark Arnold cross from the right wing into the netting. Liverpool were one nil up in the contest and had put their stamp of domination on the game.
As its often said, one brings another. So was the case on the Matchday 30 in Arsenal v Liverpool contest. After a sensational header from Jota in the 64th minute, the Liverpool Star and Skipper, Mo Salah came top the party only four minutes later ass he doubled the lead for the visitors in the 68th minute of play. Salah capitalized on the mistake by Gabriel and put the ball into the poles by beating Leno smartly. Liverpool were suddenly two goals ahead on the scoresheet. Momentum seemed to be with them, Fortune was favouring them and they were all over Arsenal. In the 82nd minute, the final nail in the coffin was struck by Jota, the guy who started the proceedings for Liverpool. It was too easy a chance for the visitors, and they were never going to miss it. Salah gave the ball to Mane in the box, who somehow managed to miss it, But Jota could do nothing wrong that night as he arrived at the right moment to smash the ball into the netting and gave Liverpool an impregnable 3-0 lead.
A couple of more chances came for the visitors, thanks to a sluggish defence from the home side but no further damage was done as the game concluded at 3-0 margin, in favour of the visitors.
The victory brought Liverpool to fifth spot on the league table, within touching distance of Champions league berth while Arsenal are placed 9th on the table.
Analytics also reflect the story of the game as Arsenal managed to have only 35% of the possession, which is too low for a side of their standards. Similarly, Also took only 3 shots during the course of the play while Liverpool took 16 shots. Pass Accuracy from Arsenal was also too low as the managed only 75% pass accuracy.
The number of passes managed by both the sides also have a massive gap between them. Arsenal had 395 passes while Liverpool were able to complete 703 passes, which highlights the difference between two sides.
The One Area Where Jurgen Klopp Showed His Tactical Masterclass
There was really only one area where Liverpool won the match. Sure, they were better in every department, leading Mikel Arteta to issue an apology to Arsenal's London fans. However, it was really only ONE area where Liverpool won the game
The one area where Liverpool won the match was the midfield, why? Klopp knew that Arsenal had a potent attacking force, and a solid defence. However, it was the midfield that fed the attack, and it was the midfield that shielded the defence.
Klopp rightly reasoned that in the midfield, Thiago etc must outshine Partey and Ceballos, and he was right. The pair were ineffectual. This meant that the attack was starved, and the defence WAS exposed. It seemed a tactic that Arteta either didn't cotton on to, or could do nothing about.
Whatever the case, this tactical masterclass won the match for Liverpool and ended any hopes for Arsenal's season.
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