Liverpool entertained Arsenal at Anfield earlier tonight hoping to pick up another win at home. The Reds dominated the early goings of the game but conceded a goal against the run of play as Alexandre Lacazette scored from close range in the 25th minute. However, it took the home side just three minutes to come up with a response as Sadio Mane scored from a rebound. Andrew Robertson gave his team the lead in the 34th minute via his chipped finish from point-blank range. The Reds went into the half-time interval with a narrow one-goal advantage to show for their efforts.
The Merseyside giants kept the pressure on in the second 45 minutes but struggled to kill the game off. Diogo Jota came off the bench to score with a well-placed strike in the 88th minute to give Liverpool a comfortable 3-1 win at Anfield.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match against the Gunners.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian keeper pulled off two world-class saves in the second half to keep his team ahead in the game but will be disappointed about not keeping a clean sheet.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10
The English right-back played a wide array of passes and created some decent goal-scoring opportunities for others around him. He was hardly troubled defensively by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and picked up an assist at the other end as well.
CB: Joe Gomez – 7.5/10
He didn’t put a foot wrong in the game and was responsible for making some important clearances at the back. He will be happy after restricting Arsenal to just one goal.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch centre-back was a rock at the back and played some wonderful diagonals during the game.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
The Scottish full-back made an uncharacteristic error to gift the Gunners the opener. However, he made amends by scoring the all-important second goal for Liverpool and was a constant threat for the opposition because of his tireless running down the left flank.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10
The Dutch midfielder retained possession well for his side and got stronger in the final quarter of the match.
CM: Fabinho – 8.5/10
The Brazilian midfield ace positioned himself well in midfield to mop up the ball more often than not. Fabinho made several important interceptions throughout the 90 minutes and had a brilliant game at the heart of Jurgen Klopp’s midfield.
CM: Naby Keita – 7/10
Keita made some driving runs with the ball and did well to play some nice one-twos with his teammates in and around the opponent’s penalty area.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 7.5/10
The Egyptian wing wizard’s shot led to Mane’s tap-in in the lead-up to Liverpool’s opening goal. He was bright and vibrant from the right-wing but needed to be a bit more clinical in the final third. Salah ended the contest with an assist to his name.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7/10
The Brazilian striker was mesmerising at times with his link-up play with others around him. However, he has no goals or assists to show for his efforts.
LW: Sadio Mane – 8.5/10
The Senegalese speedster popped up with the equaliser in the first half. He caused all sorts of problems for the Arsenal defenders with his powerful running and link-up play but was unfortunate not to add to his goal tally in the second half.
Substitutes:
CM: James Milner – 6/10
The veteran midfielder used his experience to see out the victory.
LW: Diogo Jota – 8/10
The Portuguese winger opened his goal-scoring account for the Reds with an intelligent finish.
ST: Takumi Minamino – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
