Arsenal 3 Liverpool 4
Arsenal: Theo Walcott (31’) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (64’) Calum Chambers (75’)
Liverpool: Philippe Coutinho (45’+1’, 56’) Adam Lallana (49’) Sadio Mané (63’)
Man of the Match: Coutinho
The sharp intake of breath around the Emirates Stadium said it all.
Arsenal were just seconds away from going in at half-time with a 1-0 lead over Liverpool, but one sweet swoosh of Philippe Coutinho's right foot put the visitors back on level terms and, with the benefit of hindsight, turned the game on its head. The free-kick was so sweetly struck that the home fans knew it was destined for the back of the net as soon as the Brazilian made contact.
The spectacular leveller was probably more than Liverpool’s first-half performance deserved, with Jurgen Klopp’s side second best for much of the opening 45 minutes. They struggled to build play through a midfield which looked a little unbalanced – Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana did not look entirely comfortable in their respective roles – while they were strangely passive without the ball, too. Arsenal – quicker, sharper and generally more aggressive – deserved their advantage.
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Coutinho’s strike changed things, though. Liverpool may not have come flying out of the traps from the very first whistle as expected, but they certainly did so after the break. Buoyed by their equaliser, they went on to hit three more goals in 11 second-half minutes, ultimately giving Arsenal too much to do despite deficit-reducing efforts from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers in the final quarter of the encounter.
Coutinho also had a hand in Liverpool’s second, brilliantly flicking a first-time ball around the corner to Wijnaldum, who in turn found Lallana with a fine chipped pass, and added the third with an emphatic but controlled finish from Nathaniel Clyne’s fizzed cross from the right flank. He may have limped off holding his hamstring with 20 minutes left on the clock, but there was no doubt that Coutinho was Liverpool’s difference-maker and match-winner on the day.
The 24-year-old’s technique and ability have been clear to see ever since he moved to Anfield from Inter in 2013, but the main criticism of him in the last couple of years has been his propensity to decorate rather than dominate games.
Coutinho has regularly scored wonder goals for Liverpool, with many of them decisive in terms of turning defeats into draws and draws into victories. He has often been guilty of not contributing enough in general play, however, and that will need to change if he is to develop into a truly world-class attacking player.
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There were certainly signs of Coutinho dictating proceedings to a greater extent on Sunday afternoon, particularly when he began to drift into more central areas in the second period. He did not opt to simply shoot from range whenever he picked up the ball in the final third, instead assessing his options more intelligently and feeding teammates in better positions.
“Scoring four goals is wonderful, conceding three is the opposite. It was a really intense game for both sides, so we used [half-time] to be more of a threat to them,” Klopp told reporters in his post-match press conference, while also labelling Coutinho’s free-kick “genius” and confirming the hamstring issue that forced his withdrawal was merely cramp-related rather than anything more serious.
That news will be well received by Liverpool fans, who know that the Brazil international is likely to be crucial to their chances of a successful season in 2016/17 – particularly if he can repeat his all-round display at the Emirates on a regular basis going forward. With no European commitments and a squad that has benefited from a full pre-season of fine-tuning under Klopp, Liverpool will hope that Sunday’s thrilling triumph in north London turns out to be the start of something special.
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