The resultant
three one victory over Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal came as no surprise given
Liverpool’s predisposition this season to deal handily with sides in the top
seven and to fall away alarmingly against the scrappers in the bottom third. These idiosyncratic displays have cost Jürgen
Klopp’s team a run at the League title.
It seems
unbelievable that the same team who summarily dispatched Spurs and now their
London rivals put up such as tepid display in between against a Leicester team,
although looking to prove the doubters wrong after the dismissal of Claudio Ranieri,
decidedly low on confidence.
Is it as
simple as we surmise that given time and space against the bigger teams we
thrive able to impose our game and dictate at will. It says a lot about our mind set and our inability
to adapt our game when posed with a seemingly alien concept of having the
majority of the ball against deep lying defences and being hit on the
break.
It’s now a tried and
trusted method against us and one could hear fans around me as Mane authoritatively
smack home the second articulating their doubts as to whether we would fail
ingloriously again against Burnley next week.
We don’t
have ‘a dogs of war’ midfield able to mix it when the time comes.
We don’t
have a midfielder who can control the tempo of the game with subtle balls, intelligent movement and penetrative
passing, but what we do have is midfielders that if given their head will run
all day.
The problem with that is many
of teams battling against relegation have in abundance of players with these
qualities and against teams of this nature it’s the extra bit of quality or the
ability to stand toe to toe which will often win out.
That said
Klopp’s team were deserved winners having totally dominated the first-half and
a more deserving score line would have seen them three or four goals to the good,
with Arsenal barely testing Simon Mignolet’s goal.
Liverpool
were ahead on 9 minutes. The ball found
its way to Mane after a flick on, he crossed low and hard, but straight to
Hector Bellerin who inexplicably let the ball run through his legs to the
hovering Firmino. He was left with so
much time he almost had enough time to roll a cigarette before controlling as
he did before unwaveringly slotting home.
My mind
filtered back to a conversation I had with an Arsenal fan train on the journey
up. He said, if Liverpool scored first
we’d win because of his side’s lack of an underbelly. Without the undoubted world class powers of
the up until now ubiquitous Chilean, the task seemed decidedly easier from the
onset. Arsenal lacked leadership,
creativity and a cutting edge. Three
skill sets the ex-Barcelona forward has by the shed load.
Liverpool
began to look threatening and Firmino almost beat the offside trap after being
sent trough. With Liverpool’s front
three buzzing around as they had earlier in the season at the Emirates a second
goal looked in the offing.
Coutino
tested Petr Cech with a rasping left footed drive from the edge of the area
which the keeper brilliantly tipped over.
But a matter of time it was.
Emre Can
enjoying one of his better games in holding court over Xhaka and the Arsenal
midfield found Firmino with a flourish of his right boot allowing the forward
to find Mane, entering the area without much trouble before burying his shot
with a cold almost aloof finish.
Recognising
the folly of leaving out his star player, Wenger remedied the situation at half-time
replacing the ineffective Coquelin.
Sanchez
impact was immediate. Giroud on the end
of Monreal’s cross forced Mignolet into pushing the ball on to the bar before
the ball was scrambled away.
Arsenal were
sniffing away back in and they soon found it with Sanchez the architect. He found Welbeck superbly with a slide rule
pass which the England International adeptly chipped over the advancing
Mignolet.
Sanchez
looked menacing and Wenger a man not prone to admitting mistakes must have, in
the quiet of his own mind wished he could have turned back the clock and not
gone for the long aerial balls continually pumped up the pitch for Giroud.
As boisterous
as Arsenal were Liverpool still presented a threat and it was they in injury
time that killed the game. It was the
type of goal which raised the temperature because of its thrilling nature and
finally calmed the fears quashing any remnants of Arsenal hope.
On the
break, substitute Divock Origi motored down the left before delivering an inch
perfect cross for the rampaging Georgino Wijnaldum to tuck away. Arsenal’s renaissance had been worrying for
the home crowd, but not deserving parity.
Teams:
Liverpool: 22 Mignolet, 2 Clyne, 32,
Matip, 17 Klavan, 7 Milner, 5 Milner, 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can, 20 Lallana (Lucas 90+2 mins), 19 Mane
(Alexander-Arnold 90+3 mins), 11 Firmino, 10 Coutinho (Origi – 80 mins)
Substitutes: 1 Karius, 6 Lovren, 18 Moreno,
21 Lucas, 27 Origi, 58 Woodburn,
66
Alexander-Arnold
Arsenal: 33 Cech, 24 Bellerin, 20
Mustafi, 6 Koscielny, 18 Monreal, 34 Coquelin (Sanchez – 45 mins), 29 Xhaka, 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain,
17 Iwobi, 23 Welbeck (Walcott 74 mins), 12 Giroud (Perez – 74 mins)
Substitutes: 3 Gibbs, 5, Gabriel, 7 Sanchez,
8 Ramsey, 9 Perez, 13 Ospina, 14 Walcott
Referee: Robert Madley
Attendance: 53, 146
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