In the end, Liverpool FC mourned the missed opportunities.
The answer to the question was quite clear: Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale had driven the Reds mad with numerous outstanding saves in the closing stages and held the tie for the Premier League leaders in the last few minutes.
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While the Gunners are coming under more pressure due to the draw at the top, Liverpool are in danger of losing sight of the Champions League more and more.
Three things that stood out about Liverpool against Arsenal.
1. Ramsdale drives Salah and company mad
Ibrahima Konaté couldn’t believe it. The Reds centre-back covered his face with his hands and stared in disbelief through the rows of stadiums.
A few seconds earlier, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, the Frenchman had a huge chance to score for Liverpool. But Aaron Ramsdale’s fourth superb save scraped the 23-year-old’s shot off the line to salvage a point for Arsenal.
Aaron Ramsdale saved Arsenal from equalizing with a sensational save
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Hardly challenged in the first half, the English national keeper was in top form in the second half. As the hosts increased the pressure and the Gunners pushed deeper and deeper into their own half, the 24-year-old drove Mohamed Salah and company to despair time and time again.
“It was fun to play today,” Ramsdale enthused on “Sky”: “There are no better games than games like today, where there is so much at stake for both teams.”
After 57 minutes he fended off a flick from Mohamed Salah brilliantly and prevented the LFC from equalizing early on. In the final phase he then kept his nerve in a one-on-one with attacker Darwin Nunez (81st). “We had to rely on the big defensive moments, especially from Aaron,” said coach Mikel Arteta.
Aaron Ramsdale was named Man of the Match at Anfield
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Ramsdale was then powerless against Roberto Firmino’s equalizer (87′), but the final offensive by Jürgen Klopp’s team shattered again at Ramsdale. First he deflected another shot by Salah with his fingertips around the post, then he crowned his outstanding performance with the insane act against Konaté.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get three points, but at least my saves helped us,” said a happy Ramsdale after the bang at Anfield. The reward: An important point in the championship fight with Manchester City – and the trophy as “Man of the match.”
2. Van Dijk’s bucks exacerbate Klopp’s crisis
Jürgen Klopp didn’t want to address it, Virgil van Dijk had been counted on from different sides too often in the past few weeks.
“The cross was good, but Gabriel Jesus shouldn’t get it in the end,” criticized the Stuttgarter, without mentioning the name of his defense chief. But the ultimate question of guilt was obvious.
After a cross from Gabriel Martinelli, the Dutchman, who won only 33 percent of his tackles, made no physical contact with the attacker, completely lost sight of the Brazilian and gave him far too much space on the six-yard line.
Virgil van Dijk cut an unlucky figure again at Anfield
Photo credit: Image
Without an opponent, Gabriel Jesus had no trouble pushing the ball over the line to make it 2-0 for the league leaders (28th).
Compatriot Adler, who made van Dijk responsible for “Sky”, was clearer than Klopp: “There is a player in the box and you have to cover him.”
Van Dijk had already cut an unfortunate figure when Gabriel Martinelli scored the opening goal twenty minutes earlier (8′). He clumsily played a deep ball from Martin Ödegaard into the legs of the winger, Martinelli took the opportunity ice cold and didn’t give his compatriot Alisson a chance.
“A bit slapstick”, as the Liverpool coach analyzed the goal in its entirety: “Of course we shouldn’t have conceded the first two goals.”
Because the false start of the 2019 Champions League winner was responsible for the fact that the Reds’ crisis worsened despite the strong second half and the team around captain Jordan Henderson remained without a win in the fifth competitive game in a row.
Jürgen Klopp was already served early in the game after the 0:2
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Nevertheless, the former BVB coach saw the improvement in performance after the change of sides as a step in the right direction: “From my perspective, that pushes us. It’s a start.”
The train towards the premier class seems – also due to blatant defensive bucks – to have left the train long ago.
3. Anfield curse puts pressure on Arsenal
After 28 minutes it looked like Liverpool’s negative run was finally coming to an end. “I really enjoyed the first half,” enthused Arteta after the spectacle of the early stages: “We played with a lot of courage, good organization and high quality.”
Goalkeeper Ramsdale also praised the “excellent start” in which Arsenal didn’t let Jürgen Klopp’s side notice the black series. But then the never-ending curse caught up with the Gunners at Anfield.
Arsenal have not won at Anfield for over a decade
Fotocredit: Getty Images
Arsenal have not won at Anfield in the Premier League for over a decade. Back then, when it was 2-0 (1-0) in September 2012, a certain Lukas Podolski scored a goal and set up another one. Midfielder Mikel Arteta received a yellow card in Arsené Wenger’s team.
Since then, the Gunners have been unlucky and unsuccessful at Anfield, most recently Liverpool won six duels in a row and always scored at least three goals. Even 3871 days after the last three in Anfield, Arsenal were not granted the important victory in the championship fight.
“We lost the momentum and a lot of balls in the wrong spaces,” the Spaniard analyzed the second half on “Sky” and was finally even happy with the draw: “You have to take the point with you. We allowed a lot of chances.”
The counter reduced the gap to Manchester City to six points – the Citizens also played one game less than the capital club. Eight games before the end of the season, the pressure on Arsenal is increasing.
Despite the setback, the Londoners didn’t want to lose their optimism – on the contrary: “One point is much better than none,” Ramsdale summed it up. Like his goalkeeper, coach Arteta focused on the positive: “If we play like we did in the first half, we’ll win a lot of games.”
The mentality of a champion.
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