Liverpool had 17 shots and not one on target. Arsenal won Alisson's short goal kick, Rice overlapped and crossed, and Havertz's tap-in ended a 14-year wait at Anfield and put Arsenal top.
The numbers
| Arsenal | Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 44% | 56% |
| Shots | 10 | 17 |
| xG | 0.98 | 1.05 |
| Touches in opp. box | 24 | 52 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 4 |
Result the chances deserved: Arsenal 33% / 31% / Liverpool 37% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya, Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori, Guimarães, Rice, Madueke, Ødegaard, Tzolis, Havertz.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Araújo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Nyoni, Gakpo, Wirtz, Barcola, Isak.
Liverpool subs: Szoboszlai (59', Nyoni), Ngumoha (67', Gakpo), Tsimikas, Koumas & Muñoz (81', for Kerkez, Wirtz & Araújo) (FotMob; Liverpool FC has 58' and 82'). Unused: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Gravenberch (Liverpool FC). Manager: Andoni Iraola. Nyoni made his first league start.
Cards: Barcola (45+2'), Madueke (55'), Kerkez (67'), Lewis-Skelly (72'), Mac Allister and Timber (80'), Raya (90+3', time-wasting), Van Dijk (90+7') (FotMob).
Key moments, move by move
- Liverpool try to play out from a goal kick, and Alisson's short pass is loose. Arsenal win it high up the pitch; CBS Sports credits Ødegaard with the interception.
- Guimarães moves the ball on to Madueke on the right (beIN Sports).
- Rice runs from midfield round the outside of Madueke, into the right channel (Liverpool FC).
- His low ball goes across the six-yard box, between Alisson and the defenders, and Havertz taps in at the back post (Sky Sports). Iraola: "We have seven, eight players there to defend that situation."
One pressed goal kick, then a box Liverpool could not hit the target from
- The goal came from a press: Arsenal pushed up on Liverpool's goal-kick build-up early on (beIN Sports). When Alisson's short pass went astray, three passes and Rice's overlap took the ball to Havertz at the back post. It was Rice's fifth league assist of the season (NBC Sports).
- Then the block: after the break Arsenal sank into a compact block and the tempo dropped (beIN Sports). Liverpool had 56% of the ball and 52 touches in Arsenal's box to 24, but their 17 shots produced none on target (FotMob, Sky Sports). It was the first time since 2003-04 that Liverpool had failed to hit the target in a home Premier League game (Opta Analyst).
- Where Liverpool came close: dead balls and crosses. Isak glanced Barcola's cross wide at 21' while Timber held his shirt; no penalty was given. Wirtz's free kick hit the bar at 39' and Mac Allister headed Kerkez's cross over at 43' (Sky Sports).
- Arsenal's breaks: with 44% of the ball, Arsenal still made the cleaner chances on the break. Havertz slid in and missed Guimarães' centre, Jacquet cleared Tzolis' cut-back with Ødegaard waiting, and Alisson tipped away Tzolis' first-time shot at 73' (beIN Sports, Liverpool FC). Arsenal had 10 shots worth 0.98 xG (FotMob).
Recreate it in FM26
Arsenal · Arsenal's Anfield plan: press the goal kick, guard the box · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Arsenal's Anfield plan: press the goal kick, guard the box
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Raya | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Timber | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Konsa | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Gabriel | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Calafiori | Inside Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RDM | Guimarães | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Rice | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Madueke | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Ødegaard | Advanced Playmaker | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Tzolis | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Havertz | Centre Forward | Tracking Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Pass ReceptionOverlapped
- Crossing StyleLow Crosses
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive LineDeeper
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
- Cross EngagementContest
The idea: A 4-2-3-1 that presses the opponent's first goal kicks, then drops into a compact block and breaks. It needs two centre-backs who win headers, a Box-to-Box Midfielder who can overlap from deep, and wingers willing to track the full-backs.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce the switch from an early press to a deep block by itself; you change Line of Engagement during the match.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Zubimendi on at 62' (for Guimarães), White on at 75' (for Madueke). Keep the 4-2-3-1 and the plan: press the first goal kicks, then defend the box. Bring on a holding midfielder and a second right-back earlier, because the lead rested on Liverpool missing three good looks. It moves Arsenal's win chance from 33% to 36% (xG 0.98–1.05 becomes 0.98–0.90). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Arsenal needed
William Saliba
Liverpool's best open-play looks came from Isak getting across Arsenal defenders: Timber held him to stop the 21' header. Saliba's pace and timing in one-on-one duels would have let Timber stay at right-back.
Harry Kane
Arsenal had 44% of the ball and won it deep; their breaks needed someone to hold it up and pick the pass, then finish. Havertz missed Guimarães' centre and Gyökeres lost duels late on. A striker who drops in to link and scores from little fixes both.
What the analysts said
“For everyone attached to this football club, it has been 14 years since we won here, it has been a long time.”Mikel Arteta (premierleague.com, via Arseblog News)
“...that has given us another spring, hunger and belief to come here and do it.”Mikel Arteta on the Fleetwood defeat (via Arseblog News)
“We had an issue with Ebs as well, it was incredible that he was in the squad today.”Mikel Arteta on Eze (Sports Mole)
“I think 90% of the goal belongs to that man [Rice].”Kai Havertz (Sky Sports, via Arseblog News)
“But in the end, that defensive line, the way we stick together, that togetherness we have is undefeated.”Declan Rice (Sky Sports, via Arseblog News)
“We have seven, eight players there to defend that situation; we don't defend it properly.”Andoni Iraola on the goal (Sky Sports, via Arseblog News)
“I think probably our worst part was until we conceded the goal, and I think the reaction after the goal has been really good.”Andoni Iraola (Sky Sports, via Arseblog News)
Arsenal won at Anfield by letting Liverpool shoot from places that don't score.
What's happening. Arsenal won 1–0 at Anfield for the first time since 2012 and are top, three points clear of City. Havertz scored at 16' after Arsenal won Alisson's short goal kick and Rice overlapped to cross. Liverpool then had most of the ball and 17 shots, but none on target. It was the first time since 2003-04 that they had failed to hit the target in a home Premier League game (Opta Analyst).
How it works. A side protecting a lead can give away the ball and still control the game, if it controls where the shots come from. Arsenal kept their back four narrow, two midfielders in front of it, and let Liverpool cross into a full box. Gabriel and Konsa won what came in. The cost is territory and dead balls near your own goal. Wirtz hit the bar with a free kick, and Mac Allister had a free header.
What the shots say. FotMob has Liverpool slightly ahead on xG. One reading: a game of few clear chances that Arsenal won on one moment, and an unmarked header or a penalty for the Timber hold makes it a draw. The other: 17 shots and none on target is no accident, it is what this defence does. Arsenal came into the game having faced the fewest shots on target in the league (Opta Analyst).