51
21:55
Klopp doesn’t like it at all. Fabinho carelessly hands the ball to Lacazette in front of the center line, whose through ball in the direction of Martinelli is, with luck, caught by Alexander-Arnold.
49
21:54
Milner calls a high leg after Saka gets the ball in front of him at the halfway line. Michael Oliver didn’t whistle and the Gunners continued unmolested. Saka charges into the penalty area from the right, but gets stuck there after a feint on the well-defended Matip.
47
21:52
Minamino then conquers the ball in his own half and starts a brilliant 60-meter run. To the left of the edge of the penalty area, he then hits the ball high to the right of the right post. No one really knows whether this attempt was intended as a cross or a shot, but it wasn’t entirely harmless.
47
21:50
The Gunners initially pick up where they left off in the first half. They keep the Reds away from their own goal by staying in their half themselves.
46
21:49
Both teams are back on the pitch, referee Michael Oliver releases the ball again – off to the second half!
46
21:48
Kick-off 2nd half
45
21:37
Mid-term conclusion:
With a goalless 0:0, both teams say goodbye to the catacombs. Arsenal are down that aisle, however, with a man down after Xhaka was sent off after his ill-considered 24th-minute move. Until then, the game was relatively even with slight advantages for the Reds. After the red card, the LFC constricted the Gunners at the back without creating high-percentage scoring chances. Arteta made clever moves from a man down and was pleased to see his side reawaken towards the end of the first half and boldly press Liverpool. In the second period, however, the Reds play on their fan curve, which will be a new challenge for the Gunners. See you soon!
45
21:33
Arsenal actually pushes just before half-time. The guest fans are enthusiastic and acknowledge the courageous performance with songs.
45
21:32
The red card and the early changes cost time, which is now being made up again – there are two minutes of extra time.
45
21:31
Official injury time (minutes): 2
45
21:31
After a throw-in from the right, Chambers and Lacazette threw themselves into the Reds’ right half in their penalty area, where Chambers then stumbled the ball and couldn’t reach the baseline.
44
21:30
Arsenal sells really solidly decimated. At the end of this first half, the Gunners even played bravely again.
43
21:28
A free kick from the right in the LFC half is also kicked by Saka. This sensitive cross into the penalty area is actually great, but a bit too far for the free Lacazette!
41
21:28
Saka just goes for a solo on the right side and actually dribbles right into the penalty area. His mixture of shot and cross is then clarified by Matip for a corner – but this brings nothing. Still, these actions give the Gunners hope.
41
21:26
LFC coach Jürgen Klopp is rather grumpy about the imprecise final passes to the top. Arsenal can keep the Reds away from their own goal so easily.
39
21:25
Matip doesn’t find a passing station in the forward gear and then just runs to the penalty area without any pressure. There he then looks for Jota with a plug-in pass, but Ramsdale is wide awake and grabs the pass attempt.
37
21:23
The European Handball Championship is running parallel and the Liverpool combinations around the guests’ penalty area are almost like a handball situation. The Gunners are in and around their own box with nine men.
35
21:21
Despite being outnumbered, Arsenal keeps the offensive wingers of the LFC around Minamino and Jota under control, because they are always on the spot with two men.
34
21:19
The Gunners’ plan must be to keep Liverpool at bay for as long as possible. Worst case would be a big pack today because it would be difficult to catch in the second leg.
32
21:18
Lacazette tries to counterattack all by herself, but is stopped at the center line by three opponents. The Arsenal fans who traveled with them demanded a free kick, but it was not given after the pressure hit, which was in accordance with the rules.
30
21:16
Liverpool would like to use the majority as early as possible and cheerfully runs against the defensive wall of the guests. Let’s see if the Gunners can also look ahead.
28
21:14
Arteta reacts to the sending off and brings in the more defensive holding for striker Nketiah. This should fill Xhaka’s gap.
28
21:13
Substitution at Arsenal FC: Rob Holding
28
21:13
Eddie Nketiah comes off the bench at Arsenal FC
27
21:13
Of course, this will be a very difficult sixty minutes for the Gunners. Outnumbered against this strong Liverpool – that will be a Herculean task.
26
21:12
Alexander-Arnold takes the free kick due from 17 meters and hits it into the wall. The second attempt doesn’t hit the goal either, but sails far to the left of the goal.
24
21:09
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal FC) is shown a red card
Xhaka pulls the emergency brake! Diogo Jota is sent to the Gunners’ penalty area with a high diagonal ball from Fabinho. Xhaka wants to prevent the Portuguese from breaking through at all costs and extends his right leg up. He hits the LFC player with his foot at chest level and cannot complain about the red card after this rude operation.
21
21:07
Arteta notices the small inconsistencies in the LFC and calls on his players to press even earlier. In this case, however, the Reds can easily break away.
19
21:05
The constant pressure of the Reds is now coming to a standstill. The Gunners are gradually catching up and conquering the balls further and further up. Lacazette tries a right-footed shot from 30 yards out, but his shot flies a good two yards wide of the right post.
17th
21:03
In a duel with Martinelli, Henderson gets his right hand on the neck at the level of the halfway line. The LFC player goes down and gets the free kick for the Gunner’s unconventional use of his arm.
15
21:01
Arsenal’s back line is often very questionable in their own penalty area. From time to time the players disagree as to who should now clean up the tricky situation and during this pause for thought a Liverpool player snoops in between. The guests have to turn this off as soon as possible.
14
20:59
The LFC got off to a really good start and put the guests under pressure very early on. How long can the Gunners withstand this power play?
12
20:59
What is Ramsdale doing there? The Arsenal keeper gets a back pass and then shoots the approaching Henderson. From this, the ball bounces to the right of the goal, where the number 14 reaches the ball just before Ramsdale. But then the ball gets stuck on the goalkeeper – lucky again!
11
20:57
Arteta acts directly and brings Calum Chambers.
11
20:56
Calum Chambers comes on at Arsenal FC
11
20:56
Cédric Soares comes off the bench at Arsenal FC
10
20:56
Cédric Soares will probably have to be substituted early. His pain from the first minute hasn’t gone away, so Mikel Arteta is likely to make the first early substitution shortly. Too bad for the left-back…
8th
20:54
Martinelli runs a little too briskly at Van Dijk on the center line and rushes into the Dutchman. The central defender does not suffer from it, but his opponent. Liverpool still gets the free kick.
7
20:53
Robertson is cleared after a sensible LFC combination on the left by Henderson. The Scot hits the marble sharply just in front of the first post where Ramsdale picks up the ball after Firmino narrowly misses.
5
20:51
Lacazette and Saka venture towards the Reds penalty area. Lacazette drives the ball halfway to the right and puts Saka into the box with a slip-in pass. But Saka’s cross pass in the middle gets stuck on the attentive Matip.
4
20:49
After a side shift from Van Dijk to Alexander-Arnold, he tries to get the ball past Tierney. The Gunners professional clears the ball in time at the corner of the penalty area for a corner, which in turn brings nothing.
2
20:48
Cédric Soares has early hip flexor problems after picking up an elbow. After a brief treatment, the Gunners’ right-back is back on the field.
1
20:47
In England, the gates for spectators are still open despite the high number of infections. That’s why numerous fans made their way to Anfield Road this evening.
1
20:46
“You’ll never walk alone” has sounded, that means the ball is rolling now! The guests from London are dressed in dark blue, the Reds live up to their name in red. Michael Oliver is in charge of the game as referee. Here we go!
20:38
Both teams have to do without important pillars today because the Africa Cup is running at the same time. Salah, Mané and Keita are absent from the Reds, while Aubameyang, Partey, Elneny and Pepe are absent from the Gunners. The league opponents meet for the third year in a row in the EFL Cup. In the past two years, the winner has been found on penalties – once the LFC, once Arsenal FC. Today it can’t come to a decision from the point, but in the second leg in a week. In any case, this high-class pairing promises an exciting cup evening!
20:20
In the league, Liverpool and Arsenal are separated by seven points, but only two places. It would be third against fifth today if the game were played in the Premier League. Actually, the first leg of this semi-final pairing should have been completed anyway, had Corona not thwarted the LFC. Now the Reds have to travel to London in the second leg in a week’s time. The Anfield Road team has been criticized in the past few days because some infected people are said to have had false positive results. However, Liverpool does not have to fear too many consequences.
20:02
Coach Mikel Arteta “only” makes five changes in his starting XI for the guests from north London. Tierney, Gabriel, Xhaka, Lacazette and keeper Ramsdale are new to the field following the disappointing FA Cup defeat by Nottingham. After the two bitter setbacks against Manchester City and Nottingham, the Gunners can suddenly improve the atmosphere with a place in the final. Great rivals Chelsea would eventually be waiting there – a North-West London derby in the final would be possible.
19:56
After surviving the Corona chaos, LFC coach Jürgen Klopp has set up the best possible eleven for the first game of this semi-final pairing. The German trainer made eight changes compared to the 4-1 win in the FA Cup against Shrewsbury Town at the weekend. Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to the starting eleven after surviving the Covid infection, and established greats such as Jordan Henderson, Firmino, Diogo Jota and James Milner are back on the pitch. Regular goalkeeper Alisson should also be able to gather match practice again after his Covid infection, the Brazilian pushed Caoimhin Kelleher, who was actually intended for the cup, to the bench.
19:46
Welcome to the League Cup semi-final first leg between Liverpool FC and Arsenal FC! Kick-off is at 8:45 p.m.!
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