Liverpool defeated Arsenal 3-1 in the third week of the English Premier League at Anfield Stadium on Saturday (8/24). Host winger Mohamed Salah became the star of victory by scoring two goals.
Liverpool and Arsenal have been playing open since the referee blew the whistle as the first half began. This made the chances of being created successfully by both teams.
Arsenal even had the chance to excel first if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s shot took advantage of Adrian’s error not being thin on the left side of the goal in the 12th minute.
After that opportunity, the game was controlled by Liverpool but Arsenal often threatened through counter-attack games. Nicolas Pepe got two chances but it hasn’t ended score yet.
Liverpool who played not too well in the first round could finally excel first in this match. Joel Matip’s header took advantage of a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner into Leno’s goal in the 41st minute.
In the second half, Liverpool played more aggressively and made Arsenal more focused in defense. The pressure exerted by the host made David Luiz make the mistake of pulling on the Salah shirt.
Referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot and Salah went ahead as the executioner completed his job perfectly and put the Reds 2-0 up in the 49th minute.
Ten minutes later, Salah was again a nightmare for the Arsenal defense. The individual action of Salah after tricking Luiz ended with a measured kick that nested into Leno’s goal corner.
Arsenal who actually performed quite well in this match could only reduce the position to be 1-3 in the 85th minute. Substitute Lucas Torreira broke into Adrian’s goal with a shot from close range after receiving a pass from Aubameyang.
After that no additional goals could be created by both teams and the 3-1 score for Liverpool’s victory did not change. These results make Liverpool top the standings by collecting nine points and Arsenal are in second place by three points.
The composition of players
Liverpool (4-3-3): Adrian; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane.
Arsenal (4-3-1-2); Bernd Leno; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz, Nacho Monreal; Matteo Guendouzi, Granite Xhaka, Joseph Willock; Dani Ceballos; Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
