Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool: Diogo Jota shines, leading Reds into Carabao Cup final

Arsenal vs Liverpool Preview

Liverpool missed their chance to win in the first leg of the Carabao Cup’s semi-final when they had the advantage to play on their home field and Arsenal were careless to play with fewer players from the 24th minute. Thus, in the second leg which would happen on Thursday, 20th Jan 2021, they need to win to get the remaining spot joining the 2021-22 EFL Cup final. 

On the other side, Arteta’s squad were full of hope to enter the final game after a series of impressive performances. The Gunners would host the Reds at their Emirates stadium. In addition, their team did not get serious effects due to Covid-19 or injuries so they had enough force to fight against the Reds giants. 

Liverpool were always higher appreciated than Arsenal in head-to-head games in the past. but every surprise can happen in the next game when their form has been not stable recently.  

Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool

Although key forwards like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were absent in this important game, Liverpool were still strong with Diogo Jota. The Portuguese forward scored both goals for the Kop right on Arsenal’s home pitch to enter the Carabao Cup final together with Chelsea. Their hope to win the Cup title after 10 years was once again lighted. 

Starting Line-ups:

• Arsenal XI: Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette.
• Liverpool XI: Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Matip Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Kaide Gordon, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino. 

Taking home advantage, the home team were confident to play attacking right in the first minutes of the match. In the 10th minute, Kelleher made an excellent save from a freekick which he tipped onto the crossbar, making warlike Gunners disappointed. 

In the 13th minute, Liverpool’s Fabinho took a header to Joel Matip to finish near the goal area. Unfortunately, the goal was not accepted due to the Cameroon player’s offside foul. The Reds’ fans did not need to be worried because their real goal came just 6 minutes later. In the 19th minute, Diogo Jota took on and beat Tomiyasu before cutting inside. Despite a seemingly poor effort, Ramsdale was knocked out and Liverpool took a 1-0 lead. 

The visiting team started showing off their impressive ball-controlling ability. Meanwhile, Arsenal were still in shock in front of the opening goal of the Reds. They shake themselves down some time and settled. Saka got into a good position in the 31st minute but his effort was blocked by Matip. 

Ramsdale was knocked out by Jota

In the second half, the visitors continued proving their strength with consecutive attacks. In the 51st minute, Jota managed to get the better of Ben White and feed Kaide Gordon, who was just seven yards out, but the youngster blasted over the crossbar. Liverpool should have had another goal that time.

Ibrahima Konate, who joined the game at the beginning of the second half also made an impression in the 59th minute. He overcame all defenders of the home team but his header hit the bottom of the post. 

Arsenal tried to find a goal but Liverpool’s defense did not make any mistakes. In the 73rd minute, Gabriel Martinelli had a chance to finish from a narrow corner but his shot could not pass Kelleher’sconcentration.

In the 77th minute, a brilliant ball over the top for Jota saw the forward control on his chest and chipped Ramsdale. After a tense VAR check, the goal was confirmed and it was 2-0 for the Reds. 

Jota hits double for Liverpool

Gunners were exhausted and they could not make any magic in the last minutes. Thomas Partey even got 2 consecutive yellow cards in the 87th and 90th minute and had to leave the pitch. Finally, Liverpool won with a 2-0 score and got the ticket to enter the 2022 Carabao Cup final, competing against Chelsea.

Reference Sources

• Marca.com
• Betimate.com