The game commenced with Arsenal forming a guard of honour for the team they’ve been trailing all season, ending unexpectedly with the Gunners securing a surprising point.
Ever since clinching the Premier League title with several matches left, Liverpool hasn’t maintained their best form, understandably easing off with no other competitions in progress while giving more playtime to squad members who hadn’t seen much action.
But the Reds still raced into a 2-0 first-half lead through quick-fire goals from Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz.
Arsenal, still nursing the sting of a Champions League semi-final elimination by Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the week, eventually managed to fight their way back into the match.
Gabriel Martinelli halved the Liverpool lead straight after half-time, before Mikel Merino, operating in a more conventional midfield role, drew the Gunners level with 20 minutes left.
But Arsenal would go on to finish the game with ten players, as Merino picked up a second yellow card to add to one he’d been shown in the first half.
The Gunners almost completed the comeback in stoppage time when Martin Odegaard dragged a decent effort just wide, which would have been some consolation on the season. Liverpool then went even closer to winning it when Andrew Robertson gobbled up a rebound on a corner, only to have it ruled out after VAR spotted a foul in the build-up.
*Ratings provided by Fotmob*
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Alisson |
6.9/10 |
|
RB: Conor Bradley |
6.9/10 |
|
CB: Ibrahima Konate |
6.3/10 |
|
CB: Virgil van Dijk (c) |
6.3/10 |
|
LB: Andrew Robertson |
7.3/10 |
|
CM: Ryan Gravenberch |
5.6/10 |
|
CM: Curtis Jones |
6.8/10 |
|
RM: Mohamed Salah |
6.5/10 |
|
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai |
7.6/10 |
|
LM: Cody Gakpo |
7.4/10 |
|
ST: Luis Diaz |
7.6/10 |
|
SUB: Alexis Mac Allister (66′ for Jones) |
6.5/10 |
|
SUB: Darwin Nunez (66′ for Gakpo) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (67′ for Bradley) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Diogo Jota (79′ for Diaz) |
6.0/10 |
|
SUB: Harvey Elliott (83′ for Gravenberch) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo.
*Ratings provided by Fotmob*
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: David Raya |
7.6/10 |
|
RB: Ben White |
6.9/10 |
|
CB: William Saliba |
6.4/10 |
|
CB: Jakub Kiwior |
6.5/10 |
|
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly |
6.4/10 |
|
CM: Martin Odegaard (c) |
7.1/10 |
|
CM: Thomas Partey |
7.8/10 |
|
CM: Mikel Merino |
6.8/10 |
|
RW: Bukayo Saka |
7.7/10 |
|
ST: Leandro Trossard |
7.8/10 |
|
LW: Gabriel Martinelli |
7.4/10 |
|
SUB: Kieran Tierney (78′ for Trossard) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Riccardo Calafiori (78′ for White) |
6.0/10 |
|
SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (88′ for Saka) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Neto, Jurrien Timber, Jack Henry-Francis, Ethan Nwaneri, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Raheem Sterling.
