Liverpool-Arsenal (13 Dec 2009)
Liverpool hosted Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday for the Barclays Premier League fixture,this being one of the fixtures in which the top flight teams clash for glory and dominance. Liverpool's boss Rafa Benitez put out his strongest squad,Fernando Torres making comeback after a gap of six weeks. The midfield line up consisted of Steve Gee,Kuyt,Benayoun,Mascherano and Lucas. Arsenal's squad looked meek with Persie and Bendtnar missing and Asravin trotting as the lone striker upfront.Liverpool started the match with 24 points in the bag and Arsenal with 28 points. A win would get Liverpool or Arsenal closer to the league leader Chelsea. Both teams had the advantage because both Chelsea and Manchester United dropped points this weekend.
Liverpool started the first half with much agression,attacking right from the first minute. Five minutes under the first half a superb partnership between Torres and Gerrard almost put Liverpool in front but the rustiness of not playing for a long time held Torres from finishing a lollylop chance,giving the ball straight into the hands of the Arsenal goalkeeper. Although Arsenal's midfield was impressive the lack of a talented striker upfront denied them any chances of taking a good shot at the goal. Walcott looked helpless against the solid Liverpool defense and Fabregas and Nasri weren't getting the balls into the right spot for Arshavin to take a clean shot.
Just before half time Liverpool got a freekick about 30 yards from the goal. Fabio Aurelio's freekick was not punched clear by Alumunia and it fell nicely for Kuyt who nudged the ball into the goal post. Lucas sensibly stepped out of the way,allowing the ball to drift into the net. Had he touched the ball Liverpool might have been denied the goal because Lucas was in an off-side position. Liverpool went into the first half with a 1-0 lead.
The second half was a much better one for Arsenal. Liverpool's right fullback Glen Johnson gifted Arsenal with an own goal and one powerful strike by the tiny Russian (Andrey Arshavin) turned the tables in Arsenal's favour. Liverpool fought hard for a comeback,making crucial substitutions like Aquillani and Ngog to increase their attacking force but of no avail. Arsenal had weathered the Liverpool storm at Anfield and emerged victorious. Arsenal now move into the third spot with 31 points,six points behind Chelsea. Arsenal also have the advantage of a game in hand.
Liverpool's run of bad luck in the months of November and December continued for the third season. Statistics show that Liverpool drops most of their points during these two crucial months. Rafa needs to rework his strategy and needs to make sure that Torres and Gerrard are fit for the rest of the games so that Liverpool can clinch the top four spot. Not doing so will eliminate them from next seasons UEFA champions league.
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