COMMENT: Saturday’s showpiece at Anfield an advert for football. The fight for the Premier League title will be spectacular this year

It was expected to be a great battle, the result was a beautiful football that made everyone smile. Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal ended in a draw and indicated how evenly matched the title fight could be this year.

Both teams went into the game with a lot of respect. Jürgen Klopp mentioned in the press conference that Arsenal were even better than last season when they were fighting for the title with Manchester City. The Gunners, on the other hand, knew that they had last won at Anfield in 2011.

A hardly sustainable pace

The Gunners entered the game perhaps surprisingly active, hence the quick goal. Nothing better could have happened from an impartial fan’s point of view, The Reds were slapped and began to dominate with the ball.

The game was completely played out in high intensity, with very good performances from both teams’ stoppers, plus of course Declan Rice. If we were looking for the best men on either side, Ibrahim Konaté and Gabriel Magalhaes would be prime candidates. For a simple reason, they extinguished the up and down forays.

The coaches’ smiles the greatest compliment

The biggest stamp on the quality of the game was the coaches’ post-match hugs. Both Mikel Arteta and Jürgen Klopp were all smiles, and there was a positive mood among the players on the pitch as well. Rice wouldn’t just laugh with Klopp either, it’s not in either of their blood.

Highlighting the evenness of the match, both teams confirmed their weaker sides. For the home side, it was the midfield, which at times lacked focus. For the visitors, it was the same fairy tale, Oleksandar Zinchenko can’t play big games at left back. He doesn’t have it defensively.

Still in control of the Citizens

At the same time, it’s important to stress that although both teams played to the limit and to the best of their abilities, neither performance would have been enough for Manchester City in their consistently good form. At the moment it may be, but in the spring with healthy mainstays it will be different.

Manchester City’s squad is even of such quality that it’s not a question of whether the game will sit down, but rather when everyone will recover. It is not for nothing that the Citizens are known to be able to end seasons. Last year, just between March and May, they finally shook off Arsenal. Whatever they look like now, never write them off!

Source: Premier League