Arsenal and Liverpool shared the spoils in the Premier League’s match of the week. In a game of few premium chances, Arne Slot’s side twice came from behind to salvage a precious point. However, the 2-2 scoreline saw defending champions Manchester City return to the summit.
Set pieces defined first-half encounter
With William Saliba suspended and Riccardo Calafiori’s injury, Thomas Partey deployed as a makeshift right-back. However, Bukayo Saka returned in attack after missing out on last week’s defeat at Bournemouth and the underwhelming Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
And it only took ten minutes for the two-time England Player of the Year to mark his return with a goal. Ben White, who played center-back for the first time in over a year, provided the assist to Saka’s 50th Premier League goal.
The 23-year-old scored against Liverpool for a third year running at the Emirates Stadium. It was his fourth goal in this fixture, making Liverpool his favorite opponent alongside Wolves. The 4-2 victory over Leicester City is the only league game Saka hasn’t registered direct goal involvement this season.
His measured set pieces played a big part in his impressive streak. Both Arsenal and Liverpool have been dominant in winning games from dead-ball situations. And that was also visible in Sunday’s big showdown.
Liverpool equalized through Virgil van Dijk following Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner kick. Another set piece play helped Arsenal retake the lead. Midfielders Declan Rice and Mikel Merino combined to have the hosts in front at the half-time break.
Lack of second-half threat from both sides
Their next shot on target didn’t come until the 88th minute. Caoimhin Kelleher had a quiet second-half before Gabriel Jesus fired from range. That was also after the visitors leveled the score through Mohamed Salah.
Mikel Arteta has been very cautious in big games this season. He had to do it with ten men when…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/liverpool-sink-to-second-after-draw-with-arsenal/
Author : Eskender Tamrat
Publish date : 2024-10-27 20:41:10
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