Two days before Christmas, the Premier League gave us a nice gift with a top-of-the-table clash between Liverpool and Arsenal on the 18th day of the championship across the Channel. Third before the match, the Reds aimed to steal first place from their opponents at the start of the evening. Undefeated in their last ten matches against the Gunners at home in the PL, Jürgen Klopp’s flock then had reason to maintain certain hopes. Despite this, their timid start to the match benefited the much more incisive and inspired Londoners. While Bukayo Saka stood out after a few seconds of play, Arsenal finally opened the scoring from a corner thanks to a well-placed header (0-1, 4th). Cold picked in front of their audience, Mohamed Salah’s teammates saw Gabriel Jesus (13th) close to the break goal before the Egyptian winger responded in the action that followed (14th). The latter finally adjusted the sights a quarter of an hour later. Launched on the right by Alexander-Arnold, the former Roma player cleared Zinchenko before deceiving David Raya with a clear shot under the bar (1-1, 29th). Just before the break, Gabriel Martinelli almost gave Mikel Arteta the lead but his shot, in front of the open goal but guarded by two defenders, skimmed the target (41st).
Premier League live ranking
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Team
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Pts
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J
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DIF
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G
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NOT
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D
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BP
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B.C.
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18 |
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12 |
4 |
2 |
36 |
16 |
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2 |
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39 |
18 |
21 |
11 |
6 |
1 |
37 |
16 |
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3 |
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39 |
18 |
16 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
38 |
22 |
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4 |
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36 |
18 |
13 |
11 |
3 |
4 |
37 |
24 |
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5 |
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34 |
17 |
20 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
40 |
20 |
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6 |
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30 |
18 |
1 |
9 |
3 |
6 |
31 |
30 |
See the full ranking
Upon returning from the locker room, the noose tightened around the Gunners. Much less sharp, Declan Rice’s teammates saw Liverpool raise their tone and appear more and more threatening. While Joe Gomez indulged in a daring attempt (54th), the Reds created several interesting but insignificant opportunities to take the advantage for the first time in this meeting. This big opportunity arrived in the 73rd minute. On a smoothly conducted counterattack which ended with a 6 against 1 in favor of the locals, Trent Alexander-Arnold did not know how to pace his race so as not to send his attempt onto the crossbar (73rd). And at the end of a lively last quarter of an hour and additional time, the two teams were unable to decide between themselves. Showing true solidarity, the Londoners leave the banks of the Mersey with a satisfactory draw which allows them to remain at the top of the Premier League. For their part, Liverpool, who surely should have killed off the match in the second half, climbed to second place but had reason to regret not having gone for a success which would have allowed them to claim the throne of leader. In any case, the two teams will have offered a great show to the people who watched this clash which kept all its promises.
