Two goals over Arsenal put Liverpool one point back in EPL standings

There is officially a title race brewing in the Premier League with Liverpool now within one point of leading Manchester City in the standings after winning their ninth in a row on Wednesday evening.

Liverpool won the battle of two top-four teams, defeating host Arsenal 2-0 as the rain poured down on North London.

Mohamed Salah was fit enough to start on the bench, but not well enough to make it into the starting XI after suffering a minor foot injury in the Reds’ victory at Brighton over the weekend. Diogo Jota took the Egyptian’s place and Thiago starting in the midfield rather than Naby Keita were the only changes to the starting lineup since Saturday’s match.

Jurgen Klopp could be seen fuming on the sidelines at his squad throughout much of the first half, with good reason. Until the break, nearly all the pressure was on the side of the Gunners, and the Reds were struggling to create any threatening opportunities or even string a few decent passes together. The few decent possessions the Reds did have were straightforward, easy to defend, and lacked any sort of creativity in their attacks. Luckily for Liverpool, Arsenal were only able to cash in on the sloppiness in the form of possessions and chances, no goals.

For the first few minutes of the second half, it looked as if the tides were not going to turn for Liverpool. In fact, Klopp had seen enough to have both Salah and Roberto Firmino warming up to refresh the attack even before the 55th minute. Just before he was able to make the substitutions, Jota broke free on a precise through pass from Thiago to beat Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale from a tight angle to open the scoring. Jota and Luis Diaz were then subbed out for Salah and Firmino.

Just about 10 minutes later, Liverpool found a second score, vital insurance considering the level of sloppiness they were still playing with. Andy Robertson denied Aaron Wan-Bissaka a clearance and instead regained possession, crossing to Firmino who tapped it in at close range to put the Reds up 2-nil.

From the opening goal on, Liverpool transformed from a team that looked disjointed and sloppy into a team in complete control of the pitch.

With just one point between themselves and first-place Manchester City, the Reds will have a break from league play to consider the title race ahead of them, returning to Premier League action on April 2 against Watford.

GK/Defenders

Alisson – 8

The first half was relatively quiet for Alisson despite the amount of possession Arsenal were able to build. Early in the second half, Alisson had a heroic save to stop Martin Odegaard at close range after he was played just into the box by a slow backpass from Thiago. Other than that one play, not too much was required of Alisson in this one, but he shined when it counted the most.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7

Alexander-Arnold was a bright spot in what was a rough first half of passing from the Reds. The Scouser sent in a number of threatening crosses and had a beautiful over-the-top pass onto the foot of a stampeding Mane just before the break. On the defensive side, Alexander-Arnold had his hands full in the duel with Martinelli, and he struggled to stop the Gunner any time he had enough space to show off his footwork, allowing himself to be dribbled past twice.

Joel Matip – 7

It’s never as exciting as seeing him charge forward and score, but Matip just had a very good game defensively. He racked up seven clearances, had one tackle, and won two aerial duels.

Andy Robertson – 9 (Man of the Match)

Robertson didn’t let his opposite full-back get the better of him in their duel throughout the match, and did his utmost to power forward to help boost the sluggish Liverpool attack on Wednesday. Defensively, he had 4 clearances, 3 interceptions, and 4 tackles. His aggression and awareness offensively were what allowed him to regain possession and assist Firmino for Liverpool’s second goal, and it was the perfect moment to represent the energy he showed the entire match Wednesday evening.