Liverpool was made to come from behind to beat Arsenal 3-1 on Monday evening and maintain its 100% winning start to the Premier League season.
Arsenal’s opener came from a mistake from Liverpool’s left-back Andrew Robertson, with his shanked clearance falling to Alexandre Lacazette to scuff home.
It took just 147 seconds for Liverpool to level though, with Sadio Mane in the right place to prod home after Arsenal’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno palmed Mohamed Salah’s shot into the Senegalese winger’s path.
And Liverpool didn’t waste any more time grabbing the lead and it was Robertson clipping over the Leno from close range after gathering Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross. New summer signing Diogo Jota capped off the perfect evening for Liverpool, grabbing a goal on his debut with just a few minutes remaining.
The win is Liverpool’s third from its third game of the season and allowed the club to draw level with both Leicester and Everton at the top of the Premier League table.
“We had so many big moments and I don’t dream we finish off each situation, we were 1-0 down but we won it and it was completely deserved,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told Sky Sports afterwards. “Could we score more goals? Yes. Could they score? Yes. We played constantly a high line.
“How can you defend Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with not having a high line? We punished them from time to time, did not punish them but killed a little of their match plan. They stuck to it but we did it again and again.
“We want to win the ball as high as we can, that is why I was not frustrated or disappointed. The games can go either way and if they score goals, it looked slightly different. It is about how you play, how you create and early in the season, with this performance, it’s absolutely wow.”
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Back from behind
After perfect starts to the 2020 Premier League season, both sides were hoping to continue their 100% winning records.
Having beaten Liverpool on penalties in the Community Shield at the start of the season, Arsenal traveled north in high spirits and in good form.
But as the mist descended on Anfield shortly after kickoff, so Liverpool descended on Arsenal’s goal. The reigning Premier League champions began with vigor, dominating the early possession and early chances.
However, against the run of play, it was the away side who took the lead. In Arsenal’s first break of the evening, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s cross from the left fell to Robertson, only for the Liverpool left back to completely mishit his clearance. Lacazette was the lucky beneficiary, the ball dropping kindly to him in the penalty box and his scuffed finish just evaded Alisson in goal.
The away side’s lead didn’t last long though. After referee Craig Pawson allowed play to continue despite an obvious foul on a Liverpool player, Salah burst into the Arsenal area and his shot could only be parried right into the path of Mane to equalize.
Having regained parity, last season’s runaway Premier League winners started to dominate. Between Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino, the Arsenal defenders seemed to be opened up at will.
And the second goal came along just a few minutes later with Robertson making up for his earlier mistake. A deep cross from Alexander-Arnold traveled all the way across the Arsenal box before falling to the Scotland international to dink over the despairing Leno.
After the half-time break, Arsenal began with more attacking emphasis and it almost paid off around the hour mark, with Lacazette firing straight at Alisson having been put through one-on-one with the Brazilian goalkeeper.
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And through a great deal of possession and a whole host of changes, Liverpool controlled the final 20 minutes, with Jota grabbing a debut goal, scuffing home from the edge of the box to cap off the perfect evening for Klopp’s men.
“It is an amazing feeling, I just wish it could be with a full stadium but I am happy to seal the win for the team and get the result,” the Portuguese winger told Sky Sports after his debut goal. “In football sometimes you score, sometimes you miss and you have to believe you are going to score and fortunately I did.
“[The manager] told me to keep pressing like we were doing and be happy with the ball and do what I used to do. Play good football and press without the ball. I will do my job in training every day, hard work and do my best on match day.
“The first one is always the hardest one, to keep on going is the is the most important think. I have one, I want more. We are pretty much in the beginning, three games in and we want to keep going and get three points in the next game.”
For Arsenal, it was its first league defeat of the season and the club now are sixth in the league table.
