Juergen Klopp on Sunday saluted Liverpool’s fighting spirit as they kept fired-up Arsenal at bay to seal a 2-0 win in the FA Cup third round.
Klopp’s side had to survive a sustained Arsenal assault at the Emirates Stadium before two goals in the closing stages gave them a hard-fought success.
Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior headed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick into his own net in the 80th minute and Luis Diaz wrapped up the victory deep into stoppage-time.
Photo: Reuters
In the absence of the ill Virgil van Dijk, as well as Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo on international duty, Liverpool showed they have the character required to win silverware this season.
“In the end we came through. I’m really happy we could win this game. Arsenal could have won it without a doubt. We finished it off and it spoke for the character of the boys,” Klopp said. “I’m super proud. It was a super difficult draw. Maybe the most difficult we could have got.”
“It wasn’t an easy game to enjoy in the first half. We changed a bit at halftime,” he said. “We were really in the game in the second half. We scored the goals and fought for 95 minutes.”
With English Premier League leaders Liverpool chasing four trophies and facing a League Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham this week, Klopp was relieved to avoid a draining FA Cup replay.
Liverpool are two points ahead of second-placed Aston Villa and five above fourth-placed Arsenal as they chase a first title since 2019-2020.
By avoiding an Arsenal rematch, Liverpool will have a revitalizing break after the Fulham game until Jan. 21 when they go to AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League.
“We desperately wanted to avoid a draw. Now I don’t have to make any decisions which is good,” Klopp said. “Wednesday is the next game and then a few days off. We have to make steps if you want to be where we are. We will have a winter break now.”
Klopp saluted the influence of England’s Alexander-Arnold, who kept driving Liverpool forward in the second half.
“What a game he played by the way, in all the positions he played. You see his class on the ball,” the German said.
Arsenal have now won just one of their past six games in all competitions, losing three in a row to leave their once-promising season in limbo.
Mikel Arteta’s side are out of the FA Cup and League Cup, and are no longer in pole position in the Premier League.
Arteta said that they had only themselves to blame after squandering a host of chances to take the lead.
“The performance was there and the amount of chances, too. We just have to win the game, but we lost it and we are not capitalizing,” he said. “When you are better than the best team in Europe and you generate that amount of chances, I have not seen a team do it against them, but it is not enough. The reality is, it is not enough.”
Arteta said that he would not panic despite Arsenal’s untimely slump.
“When my team plays with this confidence what can I do? I am still behind them 100 percent,” he said. “It is what it is, and we have to continue to play the same way and be more efficient.”
In the other FA Cup third-round matches on Sunday, Manchester City mauled Huddersfield 5-0, Nottingham Forest were held to a 2-2 draw by Blackpool, Peterborough United lost 3-0 at home to Leeds United, Wrexham won 1-0 away at Shrewsbury Town, West Bromwich Albion thrashed Aldershot Town 4-1, West Ham United were held to a 1-1 draw by Bristol City and Luton Town drew 0-0 with Bolton Wanderers.
Additional reporting by staff writer
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946