Liverpool played against Arsenal, and defeated their big rival pretty easily with 3-1. The Reds were the dominant side at Anfield road, not allowing the Gunners to have the slightest chance of coming back into the match after they seized the control on the field.
Despite the fact that Arsenal had a chance to strike first, Liverpool was the side who was controlling things on the field. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe had nice opportunities to score, but neither of their three hits ended in the net.
Because of that, the punishment arrived very quickly. It was the 41st minute when Joel Matip headed the ball behind Leno, to stun the guests and indicate Liverpool’s takeover of the contest.
The start of the second halftime was all about Mohamed Salah, who was pounding Arsenal’s defense in many ways. The Egyptian forced David Luiz to make a penalty on him four minutes after the whistle, and coolly converted the strike from the white spot later.
According to Unai Emery, the challenge wasn’t that hard for the referee to award the penalty to the hosts.
“The penalty was the key to the game, but it was very soft,” Emery said. “If that is considered holding, then I don’t think it was enough.”
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp had no dilemma whether was that a penalty.
“It was a clear penalty,” Liverpool’s manager said.
In the 59th minute, Salah took the ball, rushed by Luiz and scored in his characteristic manner, with a low hard shot to the far angle.
The only thing Arsenal managed to do until the end of the event was Torreira’s score five minutes before the final whistle. The midfielder reacted very well in the crowdy box, beating Adrian from the nearby.
Unai Emery, didn’t dwell on the results. He wasn’t mad about it also, but the Spaniard saw some good things in Gunners’ performance at Anfield. He believes that there is a solid potential which could bring results in the future.
“We can be optimistic for the future, I thought [Joe] Willock and [Nicolas] Pépé played well. We wanted to keep the ball more but Liverpool’s press was very strong.”
On the other side, Klopp was very happy with the way his team pressured Arsenal, and about the high intensity delivered throughout 90 minutes.
“It was outstanding. It was a performance full of power, full of energy, full of greed, full of passion.”
Liverpool is the only team in the Premiership with a perfect record after three matches. The Reds are topping the standings and are looking really good at the moment. Meanwhile, after opening the campaign with two wins, Arsenal lost. It seems that once again, this team will have many problems in the back line.
Their next challenge will be against another title contender, and the biggest rival, Tottenham Hotspurs. Two teams are clashing on Sunday at Emirates Stadium. Liverpool goes to Burnley, to face the feisty Clarets, and tries to keep its perfect record.
