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Liverpool managed to get a well-deserved point at the end of an enthralling match. The Merseyside club played arguably their best game of the season. However, when Giroud scored Arsenal’s second, it looked like the Reds will end up getting nothing from the game.
To their credit, 10-man Liverpool never lost their belief and kept on chasing the game till the end. As a result they grabbed a late but, deserved equalizer. So let us look at how the players performed on the night:
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Liverpool
Brad Jones – 6/10
Other than picking up the ball from the net twice, the Liverpool goalkeeper hardly had anything to do in the match. He did a reasonable job when called upon.
Kolo Toure – 5/10
He was never able to keep up with the pace of Arsenal attackers. His distribution with the ball as well as his first touch was at times poor. Arsenal’s second goal came from the right hand side where he was stationed. He was rightly taken off in the second half.
Martin Skrtel – 7/10
The Slovakian was at fault for Arsenal’s first goal, when Mathieu Debuchy out jumped him to score Arsenal’s equalizer. Since then his performance improved. Despite being hit in the head by Giroud, he stayed on the pitch to score the crucial late equalizer.
Mamadou Sakho – 6/10
He had a decent game at the back. He was okay defensively but, his distribution needs to improve.
Jordan Henderson – 6/10
Nothing special, but did his job reasonably well. He managed to win the ball back regularly and rotated it well. He did a reasonable job in the makeshift right wingback position.
Steven Gerrard – 5/10
His distribution was not up to the mark and his needless foul resulted in Arsenal equalizing at the end of the first half. His shooting didn’t trouble Szczesny until the very end of the match. He certainly had a night to forget.
Lucas Leiva – 6/10
He was better than his partner. His passing was good and he popped up at the opposition box regularly to have a shot or two.
Adam Lallana – 6/10
He closed down the oppositions quite well and was neat and tidy with the ball. Had a good first half but, faded away in the second.
Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
He was a constant threat for Liverpool up front and scored a well taken goal. Apart from the goal, his finishing was poor, as he scuffed his shot more than once after getting into good positions.
Lazar Markovic – 6/10
He linked up well with the attackers and was a constant threat going forward. However, his final ball or shot was not up to the mark. He had his team’s best chances in the first half but failed to take it.
Raheem Sterling – 7/10
He did not start the match well as he had only 18 touches in the first half. But he started to grow more in the game during the second half when Liverpool started to chase the match.
Substitutes
Fabio Borini (73) - 3/10 (Flop of the match)
His late cameo might just be his last appearance for Liverpool in 2014. After getting a red card 18 minutes after coming on, he looked to have spat at Arsenal’s bench while walking away to the tunnel. It’s up to FA to take further action.
Rickie Lambert (81) – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
Arsenal
Wojciech Szcz?sny – 7/10
He was the busier of the two goalkeepers. Except for that one moment when he came out his penalty box and failed to collect the ball from Sterling, Szczesny otherwise had a good match.
Callum Chambers – 6/10
The English fullback defended reasonably well and closed the opposition players quite well. However, he failed to contribute much in attack.
Mathieu Debuchy – 7.5/10
He defended well and covered for his teammates. He also scored an unlikely equalizer by beating Skrtel to a header at the end of the first half.
Per Mertesacker - 6/10
He formed a solid partnership with Debuchy and defended well. However he was caught out of position regularly by Liverpool attackers.
Kieran Gibbs – 6/10
Just like Chambers he defended reasonably well. However, he too failed to contribute much on the other side of the field in attack.
Flamini – 5/10
Flamini started the match poorly and got an early booking. He could have had another for a foul on Coutinho, but was lucky to escape it. His positional play was neither good. His performance however improved in the second half.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6/10
The English youngster did a very good job for his teammates off the ball by tracking back opposition players. However, he hardly influenced the game in the attacking third.
Santi Cazorla – 8/10 (Man Of The Match)
The Spaniard was arguably the best player on the pitch. He was very active with the ball and was a constant threat for the opposing defenders. He also got an assist for Giroud’s goal.
Danny Welbeck – 6/10
Like Chamberlin, he worked well off the ball but never caused much threat when Arsenal were in possession.
Alexis Sanchez – 5/10
Was never really in the match, he lost the ball quite easily but, helped his defenders well. However, this was a night to forget for him.
Olivier Giroud – 7/10
He did not start the match well but, slowly started to grow in it. He was a constant threat in the air and took his goal really well after neat exchanges with Cazorla.
Substitutes
Francis Coquelin (82’) – 5/10
When he came on Arsenal were sitting deep trying to see off the game, hence he hardly saw the ball to make an impact.
Joel Campbell (90’) – N/A
Hardly had any time to make an impact.
Nacho Monreal (90’) - NA
Hardly had any time to make an impact.
