The game at Anfield Road between the runners-up and the league leaders ended 1-1 on Saturday evening. This means the Gunners remain first with 40 points – one point each ahead of the Reds and Aston Villa. Manchester United, however, slipped even deeper into crisis before Christmas with a 2-0 defeat at West Ham United.
Central defender Gabriel Magalhaes gave the visitors from London an early lead in Liverpool with a header (4th). Shortly followingwards, both referee Chris Kavanagh and the VAR overlooked a clear handball by Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in his own penalty area. “I don’t know if the referee can see it. But if he looks at it, I don’t know how you can say it’s not a penalty,” criticized LFC coach Jürgen Klopp.
Bild: (APA/AFP/PAUL ELLIS)
Liverpool still managed to equalize before the break through Mohamed Salah with a remarkable shot into the top corner (29′). Kostas Tsimikas and Klopp delivered a strange and momentous scene; the Greek fell to the ground following a duel on the sidelines and cleared his coach. Tsimikas was injured and is now out for a longer period (35th). “The collarbone is definitely broken,” Klopp explained following the match.
The hosts initially pressed in the second half. Trent Alexander-Arnold missed a huge chance to win for Liverpool when he hit the crossbar while free in front of the goal on the counterattack (73′). After that, the “summit meeting” remained balanced. On January 7th both teams will meet once more, this time in London and in the FA Cup.
