Liverpool faced off against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium earlier tonight as they looked to earn a victory on the road and close the gap in the Premier League’s top four race. The Reds dominated the game in the first 45 minutes but lacked the cutting edge in the final third as they went into the half-time break all level on the scoreline.
The Merseyside outfit ramped up the pressure in the second half and finally scored the opener when Diogo Jota came off the bench to score with a good header in the 64th minute. Mohamed Salah doubled Liverpool’s advantage just four minutes later with a great finish from close range. It was Jota who struck again in the 82nd minute which rounded off a memorable win for Jurgen Klopp’s men away at the English capital.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the game against the Foxes.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian keeper made a couple of solid stops and secured a deserved clean sheet away from home. He was excellent with his ball distribution and didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the 90 minutes.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8.5/10
The English full-back was defensively solid and had an exceptional game in the Arsenal half. He created several inviting chances for his teammates and got a great assist for setting up Jota’s opening goal with a superb cross.
CB: Nathaniel Phillips – 7/10
Phillips was strong in the air and bullied the Gunners attackers inside their half. He bossed the game and secured a comfortable clean sheet on the road.
CB: Ozan Kabak – 7.5/10
The Turkey international read the danger quickly and dealt with everything that Arsenal threw at him. Klopp will be quite pleased with his all-around performance tonight.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 6/10
The Scottish full-back tried his best to offer support to Mane but looked a bit tired after a busy few weeks for both his club and country.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 7/10
The Spaniard kept the ball moving quite well and was quite effective when pressing the opposition high up the field.
CM: Fabinho – 8.5/10
Fabinho won the ball back on several occasions and excelled at stopping the Gunners from building too many counter-attacks. He was also good with the ball and interchanged possession with his teammates with a lot of conviction.
CM: James Milner – 7/10
The veteran midfielder worked his socks off to establish Liverpool’s superiority at the centre of the park. He also showed his incredible versatility by filling in at left-back for most of the second half.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 8/10
The Egyptian winger was quite average in the first half but produced a magnificent display in the second. He took his goal quite well by nutmegging Bernd Leno in the 68th minute.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7/10
The Brazilian attacker cut open the Arsenal defence quite a few times during the game. He seems to be getting back to his best and it showed in his performance tonight.
LW: Sadio Mane – 6.5/10
The Senegalese winger tried too hard at times to make a difference and was guilty of squandering some decent chances to score. However, he deserves some credit for causing a lot of headaches for the Arsenal defenders.
Substitutes:
ST: Diogo Jota – 8/10
The Portuguese forward came on to make a real difference and scored two good goals in the second half to give his side all three points.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10
He added some energy and steel to the Liverpool midfield.
CB: Rhys Williams – N/A
Williams came off the bench to run the clock down.
