Liverpool 2 Arsenal 2
Liverpool left “a scar in the heart” of Arsène Wenger on his last visit to Anfield and inflicted more pain on Arsenal courtesy of a scar on the head.
Martin Skrtel, bandaged and bloodied from a cut that required stitches on the pitch and caused nine minutes of stoppage time, equalised with a towering header in the 96th minute to salvage a point for 10-man Liverpool. It was no more than Brendan Rodgers's team deserved.
Arsenal looked set to heal some of the wounds of February's 5-1 humiliation after Olivier Giroud swept Wenger's team into a second-half lead. Liverpool wasted several chances in a spirited response to Fabio Borini's foolish dismissal but, with hope fading, Skrtel was somehow left unmarked inside the visitors' penalty area and headed Adam Lallana's corner beyond Wojciech Szczesny.
Both teams gave lessons in how not to defend set pieces and squandered an opportunity for an invaluable victory as a consequence.
That the teams walked off level at the interval was a source of astonishment, even among Arsenal’s delighted travelling contingent.
Liverpool dominated possession in the first half, enjoying a 79 per cent share after 17 minutes, but a lack of penetration allowed Szczesny a comfortable afternoon in the Arsenal goal until Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time.
At least Rodgers’s team carried intent. An Arsenal team containing five forwards indicated similar adventure but the reality was imbalance and poor quality supply to their isolated attack until a vastly-improved second-half display.
With Wenger's options limited by injury and February's 5-1 defeat leaving a psychological scar, the visitors sought to contain Liverpool in the first half even though only one of their central midfield trio, Mathieu Flamini, was naturally suited to the task.
Flamini received an early booking for a challenge from behind on the influential Coutinho and the benefit of the doubt from referee Michael Oliver when he caught Lallana in the face with his elbow in the 43rd minute. Anfield bayed for a second yellow card that was not forthcoming but the controversy stirred a previously subdued contest to life.
For all of their first-half control Liverpool's chances were restricted to a Lallana snap-shot that flew over, a Lazar Markovic effort that Szczesny saved with his legs and a first time curler from the Serbia international that sailed high over the Arsenal bar following good work from the tireless Raheem Sterling.
Two minutes after Flamini's reprieve, however, the home side took a merited lead when Olivier Giroud carelessly conceded possession deep inside his own half. Jordan Henderson pounced on the striker's poor touch and found Coutinho, who side-stepped Mathieu Debuchy inside the area before beating Szczesny with a fine low finish off the inside of the far post.
Liverpool should have seen the half out comfortably given their hold on the game and Arsenal's non-existent threat. Instead, they handed momentum back to their opponents less than a minute later. From an Alexis Sánchez free-kick, cheaply conceded by Steven Gerrard with a foul on the Chile international, Per Mertesacker won the first header, Flamini the second and Debuchy the third to send it beyond Brad Jones via a deflection off the back of Skrtel's head. Liverpool's persistent vulnerability at set pieces was graphically underlined.
Level, despite contributing little in the final third, the visitors made the most of Liverpool’s carelessness after the interval with a more incisive, mature performance. Skrtel needed lengthy treatment for a nasty cut to his head after an accidental collision with Giroud’s studs.
Shortly afterwards the French forward hurt Liverpool's defenders once again with a second goal. Kieran Gibbs intercepted a Gerrard pass and sprinted down the left before finding Giroud lurking outside the Liverpool area. The striker released Santi Cazorla to the byline, the Spaniard returned an inviting pass and Giroud converted through Jones's legs at close range.
Lucas, Coutinho, Gerrard and substitute Fabio Borini all went close to an equaliser for the home side, who were reduced to 10 men in injury time when the Italian received a second yellow card for a foul on Cazorla.
(Guardian Service)
