Premier League: Liverpool vs Arsenal ends in a 1-1 draw- Debutants see red
Liverpool took on Arsenal at Anfield in the last game of the opening weekend of the Barclays Premier League. The game was the first encounter between the two teams that formed the original big four in the Premier League. Both teams were looking to prove a point; Arsenal were looking to show that they had finally emerged as serious contenders for the title, while Liverpool were looking to bounce back from the disappointment of last season.
The match got underway with both teams applying pressure on the other. Arsenal however had the first real chances of a set piece. Nasri helped line up Vermaelen who blasted a shot towards the goal that was tipped behind by Pepe Reina. Nonetheless, the Liverpool keeper brilliantly denied Arsenal taking the lead early on.
The match carried on in similar fashion for most of the first half with Arsenal looking like the more threatening of the two sides and creating far more chances then Liverpool. However even though Arsenal were brilliant in the build up they tried too hard to walk into the back of the net rather than taking the early shot.
In the forty fifth minute Liverpool won a corner that was whipped in by Gerrard. N’Gog headed the ball goal-wards but the ever present Gael Clichy, was present to deny the ball from rolling over the line; thanks to a fantastic goal line clearance.
In the stoppage time of the first half, Liverpool debutant, Joe Cole flew in late on Koscielny and gave the referee no choice but to show him a red card.
The first half ended with the scores level at nil; all and both the managers having a lot to do at the half time break.
The second half kicked off with the ten men Liverpool looking more threatening of the two teams.
That surge of threats from Liverpool eventually resulted in a goal for the Anfield team. N’Gog collected the ball on the right side of the Arsenal box, carried it a yard or two before unleashing a power shot into the top right of Almunia's goal post.
After taking the early lead Liverpool went onto park the bus. With not a single player from the home team looking to attack, Arsenal created most of the chances from then on with the best chance falling onto Vermaelen's head. The Belgian received a pin point cross from Rosicky's feet towards his head but only managed to head it well wide.
Near the end of the game Arsenal started to pick up pace again. Rosicky combined with Van Persie and ripped the Liverpool defence to shreds before unleashing a shot that was barely tipped over by the out stretched Pepe Reina.
Four minutes after that burst by Arsenal, they were level with Liverpool. This was thanks to a brilliant own goal by Pepe Reina. Reina misjudged a Rosicky cross and hurled the ball towards his own post, before ultimately fumbling it into his own goal. Chamakh played a very crucial silent roll in that own goal, his presence was enough to distract the Liverpool number one and help Arsenal pull a goal back.
The match did not end on a high for Arsenal, Koscielny was shown a second yellow for handling the ball and was given his marching orders in the last minute of added time. Replays suggest that there was not much that the player could have done about it, but the referee's decision was final.
The match ended in a disappointment for both teams. Liverpool were disappointed by failing to put Arsenal to rest with the opportunities they had. With Arsenal now not managing to beat a ten men team since January 2010, both the teams will have a lot of work to do before the start of next week's matches.
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