Liverpool fails to beat Arsenal once again
Liverpool put up a spirited second half performance in Sunday’s Premier League opener against Arsenal but could not hold on to win the game that would have been their first win against Arsenal in the last four games.
Liverpool looked to be subdued by Arsenal in the first half but scored two minutes after the break when French striker David Ngog slotted in passed Arsenal custodian, Manuel Alumnia.
Liverpool who were playing as 10 men following Joe Cole’s red card in the 45th minute looked set to record a win against Arseal who have beaten them on the last three encounters, including last season’s 2-1 win at Anfiled.
Arsenal put on Rosicky, Walcott and Van Perse but their pressure seemed futile until a rare goal came courtesy of Reina, the Liverpool goal keeper. Chamakh appearing on his Arsenal debut latched on a pass and hit the post with the ball coming back to the field. Reina in an attempt to save scrambled the ball into his net in the 90th minute.
Arsenal looked happy with the result but Laurent Koscielny got two yellow cards in the added time and was sent off in the 93rd minute for a second bookable offense. With parity of players on the pitch, Liverpool put in more pressure towards the end but couldn’t get a better result than a draw.
But it was still a better result for Liverpool who have lost two of their last three Premier League opening matches, including last year’s 2-1 loss to Tottenam Hotspurs.
Liverpool new manager Roy Hodgson is not satisfied with the result, but will be happy he hasn’t begun with a bad record of a loss in game where Arsenal had 58% possession.