Mueez Ajao
– A late goal by Roberto Firmino helped Liverpool come from two goals behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.
– Arsenal pulled six points clear of second-placed Manchester City after first-half goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus were cancelled out by Mohamed Salah and Firmino in the second half.
– Arsenal had not won at Anfield since September 2012 — a game which manager Mikel Arteta played in for the London side — but they started strong and opened the scoring on eight minutes through Martinelli.
Also Read: Arsenal’s Arteta takes aim at Premier League title
– Bukayo Saka initiated a blistering surge forward and Jesus’ pass was deflected into the path of Martinelli by Virgil van Dijk. The Brazil winger, under pressure from the recovering Liverpool backline, kept his composure and prodded the ball under the advancing Alisson.
– The Premier League leaders continued to push and looked to have put their Anfield curse firmly behind them as Jesus doubled their lead on 28 minutes.
– Martinelli burst beyond Trent Alexander-Arnold to latch onto Granit Xhaka’s searching ball. He found space to swing in a right-footed cross perfectly on the head of Jesus, who directed his effort in beyond Alisson to strengthen Arsenal’s title bid.
– However, a clash between Xhaka and Alexander-Arnold lifted the Liverpool crowd and the hosts rallied to claw a goal back three minutes before half-time. Diogo Jota’s cross was deflected by Jordan Henderson into the path of Salah, who swept home and tipped the momentum in the favour of Jurgen Klopp’s side.
– Liverpool started the second half well and were handed a golden chance to level the score on 52 minutes when Rob Holding clumsily fouled Jota to earn the hosts a penalty. Salah, however, fired wide. It was the second successive penalty the Egypt forward has missed, following his blazed effort at Bournemouth in March.
– Darwin Nunez wasted a great chance to equalise 10 minutes from time after he was set through on goal by Salah, but his tame effort was thwarted by Aaron Ramsdale.
– Klopp’s side continued to push and found a levelling goal three minutes from time as Alexander-Arnold’s floated cross was headed home by Firmino.
– The draw extended Liverpool’s winless run to five matches, with the Merseyside club remaining eighth in the Premier League.
FULL-TIME Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal
Firmino's late goal and Ramsdale's late heroics sees the points shared.
What a match! #LIVARS pic.twitter.com/CLkmw6OCMK
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 9, 2023
Arsenal's lead at the top of the league is cut to six points
This is what the result means at the top of the table ⬇ pic.twitter.com/HF7D3JoW0S
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 9, 2023
