Premier League champion Liverpool has maintained a perfect start to the season after overcoming Arsenal’s title in a free kick from the luxury Dominik Szoboszlai in Anfield.
In a match that will last season’s champions and runner-up, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was a magic moment that eventually separated the two teams.
Szoboszlai was once again used as a temporary right back, providing such a moment, hitting a great fixture from 30 yards, lifting the red to the top of the table.
Arsenal’s final victory at Liverpool came about 13 years ago when manager Mikel Arteta, a North Londoner, occupied the cage in his first 45 minutes.
But it was Arne Slot who finally stood out and won a major early victory over one of their champions.
How to unfold
Perhaps predictably, Liverpool had most of its property in the early days. Without Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, the Gunners’ game plan seems to be based on the intensity of the ball.
But this is far from the ideal start for Arteta’s man, and William Saliba lingers in just four minutes, replaced by 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera.
Arteta’s defense has not violated this semester after participating in the game. But Liverpool showed their intention to provide the first real opportunity to play through Cody Gakpo.
But the fierce efforts of the Dutch put David Raya’s near-postal wrong side in trouble.
Arsenal’s smartest attack threat against Milos Kerkez Noni Madueke is his team’s first sight target on the right, and soon after, he was taken away by Alisson from the corner.
It was almost that way 45 minutes before the opening. Between the championship and last season’s runner-up, it’s a vibrant but mostly the first stage of the cage, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s almost no real chance.
After the break, Madueke continued to provide visitors with the most dangerous channels, but Kerkez firmly resisted the pace and deception of the English winger.
On the other side of the court, Mohamed Salah had a quiet afternoon despite scoring a lot of goals against the Gunners.
Liverpool’s record signing Florian Wirtz didn’t hit his £116 million price in his first few Reds matches.
But before the little mark, the German organizer showed a quick response to stand up from Raya before another new Anfield boy, Hugo Ekitike, and tied the rebounds together.
However, the French striker was marked offside and the scoring line was still ignored.
This seems to make the game come alive. The host showed more hope in the last third, and Arteta responded by bringing Odegaard and Eberechi Eze in 70 minutes.
But the change hardly reversed the trend, and just 10 minutes later, the champion broke the deadlock in a spectacular way.
Starting with a free-kick with 30 yards from the goal, Szoboszlai went to great lengths to cut Raya’s overtake and bent over.
It’s a goal worth winning any football game, so it turns out to be the difference between the two sides.
For Liverpool, their 100% record of the season remains intact, and for Arsenal, it has won its first victory at Anfield in more than a decade.
