In arguably the biggest game of the Premier League season so far, Liverpool took on Man City Sunday night at Anfield Park. The match ended in 1-1 draw, resulting in Liverpool losing their top spot to Arsenal, as they are both tied on 64 points. Man City is still one point behind on 63, trying to defend their title.
Manchester City broke the 0-0 deadlock and took the lead in the 23rd-minute through a corner from Kevin de Bruyne. John Stones was able to turn the ball in at the near post past the diving goalkeeper.
City kept attacking and had a number of close calls on their 19 shots on goal. Liverpool seemed to be on the backfoot through many phases of the match but were able to hang in there. It wasn’t until City conceded a penalty right after halftime that Liverpool were able to strike back.
Darwin Nunez was tackled by keeper Ederson after intercepting a poor backpass from Nathan Ake. Alexis Mac Allister took the spot-kick and made no mistake, tying up the match at 1-1.
Ederson was injured in the play but tried to play on initially. He was later judged unable to continue and was replaced in net by Stefan Ortega.
From there Liverpool seemed to have found its feet, finding multiple chances on goal. Luis Diaz missed possibly their best opportunity when he was put clean through by sub Mohamed Salah. Fortunately for City, Ortega was able to get a crucial block to keep the match level.
At the other end, City had a chance of their own but Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher was able to deflect a ball from Foden.
In the end, the match ended in a tie which keeps both teams well in the race for the league title. City will however feel like they squandered a great chance to go to the top of the table.
Liverpool has been riddled with injuries over the past few weeks and City had been riding high since the comeback of Haaland and De Bruyne. Even playing at home, Liverpool went into the matchup as considerable underdogs. They will be happy to escape with the draw, although they definitely had their fair shot at winning down the stretch.
Next up for Manchester City will be a home game against Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter finals on Saturday. They will then have the massive game against Arsenal on March 31 that could very well determine the winner of the Premier League this season.
Liverpool will travel to Sparta Prague for a Europa League Round of 16 fixture. They will then be off to Manchester United on Sunday for their FA Cup quarter final before going to Brighton on March 31.
Arsenal Go To Top of Table With 2-1 Victory
Arsenal took a huge step to securing a Premier League title on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Brentford. The team now leads the table for the first time since December.
Declan Rice was able to get one by the Brentford keeper early on for his sixth of the season.
The goal came off a Ben White cross in the 19th minute. Rice has now scored in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time in his career. The midfielder has 11 goal contributions in the league this season (six goals, five assists).
There late in injury time in the first half, Ramsdale made an error to level out the match. The England keeper failed a clearance and allowed a sliding Yoane Wissa to score against the grain of play.
Luckily for Arsenal, Havertz was able to score late, heading in a cross from White for his fourth consecutive Premier League game to give his team the win.
Arsenal will now go on to host FC Porto in the second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday. They will be looking to overturn a one-goal deficit.
The big match will then be upon Arsenal on Sunday when they take on title rivals Manchester City. This match will have tremendous hype with the league implications based on the result.
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