REDS HELD BY GUNNERS
Cesc Fabregas grabbed a late equaliser for Arsenal as the Gunners held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw in a lively top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.
The Spanish midfielder finished off a neat move on 79 minutes to cancel out Steven Gerrard's first-half thunderbolt as both sides preserved their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign.
For the majority of the game it had looked like Gerrard had marked his 400th appearance in a Reds shirt with the winning goal as Liverpool's defence kept Arsenal at bay with a disciplined performance.
They began the afternoon in determined fashion and pressed the ball well to unsettle Arsenal's rhythm in the early stages.
It was a tactic that paid dividends inside the first 10 minutes when Gerrard won the ball off Mathieu Flamini deep in Arsenal territory and began the move that led to the opening goal of the match.
Dirk Kuyt fed Steve Finnan on the right and when he turned inside he found Gerrard, who brought a smart save out of Manuel Almunia with a low effort.
The Reds kept the ball in play by the left touchline and as the Gunners struggled to clear their lines Cesc Fabragas brought down Xabi Alonso on the edge of the penalty area.
From the resulting free-kick Gerrard smashed home John Arne Riise's touch off in front of the Anfield Road end to give Liverpool the perfect start.
However, as the half wore on Arsene Wenger's side began to dominate possession and could have levelled on 17 minutes but Pepe Reina reacted well to deny Emmanuel Adebayor from eight yards out.
The Reds keeper was then grateful for the intervention of Sami Hyypia when the veteran defender cleared Tomas Rosicky's clipped shot off the line after Reina had failed to clear after racing to the edge of his area.
Liverpool were struggling to maintain possession but always looked dangerous from set-pieces and when John Arne Riise's corner was only half-cleared, it was Gerrard once again who brought a smart save out of Almunia on 30 minutes.
At half-time the Reds were forced to replace an out-of-sorts Fernando Torres with Peter Crouch and it was the England international who had the first chance of the second period when he stung the fingertips of Almunia with a 25-yard pildriver.
Arsenal then missed a glorious chance to level when another flowing move found Emmanuel Eboue in the box but when his low strike rebounded back of the near post Fabregas somehow managed to fire over from eight yards out with the goal gaping.
It set the pattern for the remainder of the match as the Gunners dominated the ball and eventually they snatched the reward they deserved.
Alexander Hleb cut in from the left and when his telling ball found Fabregas, the Spain international fired a snap shot inside Reina's near post to send the travelling support wild.
Both sides then had chances to win it but when the full-time whistle blew they were forced to settle for a point.
Teams
Liverpool: Reina, Riise, Hyypia, Carragher, Finnan, Voronin, Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard (captain), Torres, Kuyt. Subs - Crouch, Babel, Arbeloa, Itandje, Benayoun
Arsenal: Almunia, Clichy, Toure, Gallas (captain), Sagna, Eboue, Flamini, Fabregas, Rosicky, Hleb, Adebayor. Subs - , Walcott, Diarra, Lehmann, Bendtner
Referee: H Webb
Conditions: Dry
Attendance: 44,122
Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Jamie Carragher
Breakdown
16:02 GMT : Match Starts
1 min : Arsenal get the game under way
2 mins : Both sets of fans are making this a lively atmosphere
2 mins : Carragher does well to stop Adebayor as he looks like he's going to go right through
5 mins : First Booking: Andriy Voronin: Voronin is booked for a foul on Fabregas
6 mins : Finnan finds Gerrard and his shot is well saved by Almunia
7 mins : GOAL! Steven Gerrard: Gerrard blasts Liverpool in front from 20 yards
10 mins : Hleb fires wide as Arsenal look to repsond
15 mins : Gerrard looks to get on the end of Kuyt's flick on, but Clichy defends well
15 mins : Arsenal break, but Eboue's cross is too long for Adebayor
16 mins : Kuyt's cross is aimed for Torres, but Toure gets his body in the way
17 mins : Adebayor is one on one with Reina, but the Spaniard wins the battle and makes a great block. That was a real chance for Arsenal
18 mins : Some loose passing invites Arsenal to come forward, but Adebayor is offside
21 mins : Reina comes rushing out but doesnt get the ball and Carragher has to clear off the line
22 mins : Alonso's long pass looks for Torres, but he's gone to too soon and is offside
24 mins : Liverpool are in front, but Arsenal are playing like a team in form and their making life difficult for the Reds
26 mins : Kuyt's cross is blocked for a Liverpool corner
27 mins : The ball drops to Gerrard on the edge of the area and he brings a fine save out of Almunia
34 mins : Play is under way again after a stoppage for an injury to Eboue
37 mins : Gerrard is fouled by Flamini and Liverpool have a free kick deep in Arsenal territory
40 mins : Kuyt turns well on the edge of the area, but his shot is blocked
43 mins : Gerrard whips a brilliant free kick into the area, but it's behind everyone and goes out on the far side
44 mins : Adebayor looks offside, but he's allowed to continue and Reina is grateful to see the ball roll into his arms after a deflection
45 mins : There will be a minimum of 3 minutes added at the end of the first half
16:51 GMT : Half Time Reached
17:07 GMT : Second Half Begins
46 mins : Substitution: Peter Crouch for Fernando Torres:
46 mins : Liverpool kick off attacking the Kop End in the second half
48 mins : Rosicky steps inside and tries to find Eboue, but his pass is wayward
49 mins : Riise wins a series of tackles and raises the noise level at Anfield
51 mins : First Booking: Tomas Rosicky: Rosicky is booked for a foul on Alonso
52 mins : Eboue's in space on the right, but Liverpool defend well
52 mins : Peter Crouch hits a stunning half volley from 25 yards and Almunia pulls off a great save. Superb effort from Crouch
53 mins : Gerrard crosses and Crouch flicks on, but Voronin cant reach it. This is a good spell for the Reds
54 mins : Great play this time from Arsenal as Eboue hits the post and Fabregas blasts the rebound high and wide
55 mins : First Booking: Javier Mascherano:
57 mins : Things are heating up at Anfield
57 mins : It's all action as Finna
58 mins : Gerrard attacks down the Arsenal right, but he runs the ball out of play
59 mins : Mascherano finds Riise with a fine pass, but Riise's attempted cross is blocked
61 mins : Crouch hits a speculative shot from 30 yards and it's easy for Almunia
64 mins : Fine play between Voronin and Gerrard puts Crouch clear and his shot is only yards wide
64 mins : First Booking: Kolo Toure:
65 mins : Substitution: Yossi Benayoun for Andriy Voronin:
66 mins : Substitution: Theo Walcott for Tomas Rosicky:
68 mins : Substitution: Alvaro Arbeloa for Xabi Alonso:
72 mins : Arsenal are probing for an equalizer, if they dont find one Liverpool will be the only remaining unbeaten team in the Premier League
73 mins : Adebayor finds Hleb with a superb pass, but Liverpool are quick to cloose him down
73 mins : Riise pounces on the loose ball and surges forward, but he misplaces his pass and the chance is gone
75 mins : Substitution: Gilberto for Gael Clichy:
75 mins : Substitution: Nicklas Bendtner for Emmanuel Eboue:
76 mins : Riise chests and volleys from the edge of the box, but it's just over Almunia's crossbar
80 mins : GOAL! Francesc Fabregas: Fabregas equalizes after taking Hleb's pass and poking the ball beyond Reina
87 mins : Fabregas almost steals it, but his shot hits the post and Bendtner blasts the rebound over
88 mins : Cries for a penalty as Kuyt goes down in the area, but Howard Webb says no
90 mins : Crouch's pass gets Gerrard in, but Arsenal make a last ditch block
90 mins : First Booking: Jamie Carragher:
17:55 GMT : Match Over |
發表於 2007-10-29 01:08 AM
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發表於 2007-10-29 01:45 AM
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