Liverpool were supreme against Arsenal as we pumped five past Unai Emery’s men. Surprisingly we conceded the opening goal of the game as Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored in the 11th minute.
However, the lead did not last long as a mix-up in the Arsenal defence allowed Roberto Firmino to score in an empty net.
The Brazilian followed it up with another brilliant goal in the 14th minute as he single-handedly took the defence apart and slotted past Bernd Leno.
Mohamed Salah set up Sadio Mane for our third before we got a late penalty in the first half which the Egyptian scored.
We got another pen in the second after Dejan Lovren was fouled, and Salah allowed Firmino to capture his hat-trick and take home the match ball.
The win, coupled with Tottenham’s loss, opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the table before Manchester City played, and here are our player ratings from the clash.
Alisson – 7.5/10
The Brazilian commanded the box well but couldn’t do much for the goal conceded. Alisson’s distribution was great too as his laser pass helped win our first pen.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10
The Englishman had an alright game at the back but his passing wasn’t always on point.
Dejan Lovren – 7/10
Gave the ball away for Arsenal’s goal and was out of position but got us a penalty in the second half.
Virgil van Dijk – 7.5/10
The Dutch defender had a decent game at the back as he ensured Arsenal couldn’t create more after that first goal.
Andy Robertson – 7/10
The Scot was tested a lot by Maitland-Niles and had to be careful after picking up a yellow card. The left-back helped create the third goal too.
Georginio Wijnaldum – 8.5/10
Wijnaldum wasn’t amongst the goals but he did a great job in keeping Arsenal in check and kept our midfield ticking.
Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian had some iffy moments as his passing wasn’t on point but had a much better game in the second half.
Xherdan Shaqiri – 7.5/10
Shaqiri did really well as he helped out in attack and also did his bit by chasing the Arsenal players down.
Sadio Mane – 8.5/10
Got a well-deserved goal in the first half and his performance was brilliant as he made life difficult for Arsenal’s defence.
Roberto Firmino – 9/10
Firmino brought Liverpool back into the game as he kept running for the first goal, got a brilliant second and was given the pen for the third goal. A fine hat-trick for some quality performances throughout the season.
Mohamed Salah – 7.5/10
The Egyptian didn’t have a great game, to be honest. He scored a pen, assisted Mane’s goal but he was not the best of our attackers.
Substitutes
Jordan Henderson – 6/10
The captain came on to calm things down and give us more control in the second half.
Adam Lallana – 5/10
Came on to give Wijnaldum a well-deserved break.
Nathaniel Clyne – NA
The right-back came on to give Robertson a rest.
