Twitter erupts as Arsenal punish catastrophic Liverpool defending to record unlikely victory  

Arsenal came from behind to beat Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium
Arsenal came from behind to beat Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal came back from behind to record a sensational 2-1 victory over champions Liverpool and keep their European hopes alive. Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson capitalised on two errors from the visitors after Sadio Mane had earlier broken the deadlock.

The Reds were a pale shadow of themselves this game, committing two horrendous errors and failing to apply the finishing touches to a few fine passages of play in the second-half.

The Reds did trouble Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta's change in formation and in-game management helped the cause as the Gunners won their first EPL game against Liverpool since April 2015.

It was not the kind of start one would expect from an Arsenal versus Liverpool fixture, as the Gunners sat back with a five-man defence.

Roberto Firmino's excellent work off the ball almost resulted in a goal for him and an embarrassing moment for Emiliano Martinez.

However, a brilliant piece of interchange between Firmino and Andy Robertson down the left unlocked the Arsenal back line in a flash. The latter's willingness to get into advanced positions found an unmarked Mane, who just couldn't have missed.

What followed 12 minutes later was something no one would have ever imagined - a Virgil van Dijk error.

The Dutchman was casual on the ball as Reiss Nelson closed down on him, not realising that Lacazette was sneaking around when he passed it back to Alisson. The Frenchman took his chance with aplomb, rounding the Liverpool shot-stopper and firing the ball past him.

Lacazette then turned provider on the cusp of half-time, capitalising on a shambolic error from Alisson of all players to pick out Nelson. The youngster adjusted himself quickly before finding the back of the net to put Arsenal in front.

The Reds then turned on the heat in the second half, registering no fewer than nine shots on goal between the restart and 65th minute mark.

While a few of their efforts were off target, Martinez stood up to his task to keep out Mohamed Salah a couple of times.

The well-earned victory takes the Gunners to 53 points, just two behind arch-rivals and seventh-placed Tottenham Hotspur. While their European ambitions are alive, Liverpool now have no chance of reaching 100 points.

Klopp's men have won just three of their seven games since the restart. They may have won the title comprehensively, but will not have the opportunity of rewriting as many records as they'd have liked.

More so, the manner of defeat and inability to respond after going behind would have frustrated the Liverpool boss more than anything.

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Edited by Vishal Subramanian
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