At the Emirates Stadium, a goal against the Polish defender Jakub Kiwior (minute 80) by deflecting a free kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold had put Liverpool’s victory on track and in the 90+5 the Colombian Luis Díaz sentenced him, with a strong cross shot in the area.
“I am very proud. He was a very difficult opponent, perhaps the worst we could have faced,” Liverpool’s German coach, Jürgen Klopp, told the BBC.
This setback further aggravates Arsenal’s bad moment, which has gone a fourth straight game without winning, taking into account all competitions, and which, above all, has lost the last three games it has played.
Both teams had met recently, on December 23 at Liverpool’s ground, and then the result was a 1-1 draw.
From that duel onwards, Arsenal seems to be in free fall. They lost two derbies in a row in the Premier League (West Ham and Fulham), to which they add this setback in their first match of 2024, which began with the same tone with which it ended 2023.
The defeat may even seem cruel due to Arsenal’s superiority in the first half, with numerous chances not materialized, including a shot by Martin Odegaard against the crossbar, which Mikel Arteta’s team ended up paying for.
Liverpool, without the Egyptian Mohamed Salah because he was already with his team for the African Cup, sent the ball to the crossbar twice, with Alexander-Arnold (45) and Diogo Jota (78).
For its part, Manchester City began the defense of its FA Cup title with a comfortable and logical victory, 5-0 at home against Huddersfield, a team fighting to stay in the second division.
It was also in a match in which the news was on the return to the competition of the Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, out since he injured his thigh on August 6 during the Community Shield (English Super Cup), which City lost against Arsenal.
The ‘Citizens’ goals were scored by Phil Foden (33, 65), the Argentine Julián Álvarez (37) and the Belgian Jeremy Doku (74), which added a goal against Ben Jackson (58). Doku returned after a month injured and precisely received assistance from his compatriot De Bruyne.
The ‘little hand’ meant that the City fans did not have to remember the Norwegian star Erling Haaland, who is still out.
The day was less positive for the other top three, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Luton, who tied against inferior teams and will have to play a ‘replay’ (repetition of the match to decide a winner, in the stadium of the team that played in this time as a visitor).
West Ham and Nottingham Forest, also facing lower-class teams, did not have such an easy time this Sunday.
With a 1-1 draw against Bristol City (2nd division), West Ham, sixth in the Premier League, had a bad day that was aggravated by the injury of Brazilian Lucas Paquetá.
The situation was even more embarrassing for Nottingham Forest, who could only draw 2-2 against Blackpool, eighth in League One (3rd category) and who had even gone 2-0 ahead.
Luton will also have to play a tiebreaker, in their case against Bolton Wanderers (0-0), currently second in the third division./AFP
2024-01-08 13:38:21
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