At 01:30 a.m. Beijing time on December 24, the 18th round of the 2023-24 Premier League season kicked off, and Liverpool faced Arsenal at Anfield Stadium. After 90 minutes of fierce action, Liverpool drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal, Gabriel opened the scoring after four minutes and Salah equalised in the 29th minute. In addition, Elliott and Trent Alexander-Arnold each had a shot hit the woodwork. After this round, Arsenal beat Liverpool and Aston Villa by one point to top the table and win the 2023 Christmas title.
In this game, Liverpool defenders Joel Matip, Thiago, Robertson, Jota, Bajcetic and McAllister are out due to injury, Van Dijk is in the backline, Salah leads the front three, Arsenal, Timber, Thomas, Fabio Vieira and Tomiyasu Kenhiro are out due to injury, Odegaard is in midfield, and Bukayo Saka leads the front three. Less than a minute into the game, Saka's cross from the right side of the box was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, and Gabriel Jesus' shot from the penalty spot was blocked by a defender. Saka then crossed from a corner from the right and Gabriel Jesus' header was denied by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson.
In the 4th minute, Arsenal made a dream start, Odegaard crossed a free kick from the left side of the field, Gabriel shook his head and scored, 1-0! Gabriel scored the first goal of the season.
In the 13th minute, Martinelli split the ball and Gabriel Jesus fired a shot from the right side of the penalty area high over the crossbar. In the 14th minute, Endo crossed from the left side of the arc of the penalty area, Gakpo headed the ball, and Salah volleyed into the right side of the net from the right side of the small penalty area. In the 18th minute, Odegaard deliberately handballed in the penalty area, but the referee on duty did not give a penalty, and VAR did not intervene.
In the 20th minute, White made the ball, Saka's shot from the right rib of the penalty area was blocked by a defender, and then White won the ball to reorganize the attack, and Odegaard shot from the right rib of the penalty area went wide of the far post. In the 27th minute, Konate played the ball and Jones' shot from the top of the box was blocked by a defender.
In the 29th minute, Liverpool equalized, Alexander-Arnold made a long pass, Salah faced Zinchenko and shook off the angle, and scored from the right rib pocket of the penalty area, 1-1! Salah scored the 12th goal in the Premier League this season and the 16th goal in all competitions, and he surpassed Owen with 151 goals and occupied the tenth place in the Premier League scorer list.
In the 35th minute, Liverpool replaced the injured Tsimikas with Gomez. In the 38th minute, Saka brought down Jones and was booked. In the 41st minute, Bukayo Saka burst into the box and was successfully defended by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, and Martinelli's shot from the left side of the penalty spot was wide of the left post. In the third minute of stoppage time, Endo brought down Martinelli and was booked. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Kai Havertz also received a yellow card for a foul on Endo. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Szobosloy tried a long-range shot that was blocked by a defender. At the end of the first half, Liverpool went into the break 1-1 at home to Arsenal.
In the second half, it was easy to play again. In the 49th minute, Reiss pulled Gakpo and was yellow carded. In the 50th minute, Jones played the ball and Salah's shot from the right side of the penalty spot was confiscated by Arsenal goalkeeper Raya. In the 52nd minute, Salah passed the ball and Dias's shot from the left side of the penalty spot went wide of the near post. In the 54th minute, Dias passed the ball, and Gomez's shot from the left rib of the penalty area went wide of the right post. In the 57th minute, Gomez made the ball, and Dias's shot from the left side of the arc of the penalty area was blocked by a defender. One minute later, Gabriel Jesus fired wide of the far post from the right side of the six-yard box. In the 60th minute, Odegaard made a comeback, and Zinchenko volleyed from the left side of the arc of the penalty area. In the 62nd minute, Gakpo passed the ball and Szobosloy's shot from the top of the box went wide of the left post.
In the 68th minute, Liverpool brought on Nunez, Hrafenberg and Elliott for Gakpo, Jones and Dias respectively, while Arsenal brought on Trossard for Martinelli. In the 71st minute, Alexander-Arnold played the ball and Elliott shot from the top of the penalty area, and the ball hit the right post after touching a defender. In the 72nd minute, Arsenal's corner kick was unsuccessfully counterattacked, and when Liverpool gained a 3v5 advantage, Salah split the ball, and Alexander-Arnold's shot from the right side of the penalty spot hit the crossbar, and the Reds missed the opportunity to overtake the score. In the 74th minute, Elliott passed the ball, and Gomez's shot from the left rib of the penalty area was cleared by Arsenal goalkeeper Raya. In the 76th minute, Alexander-Arnold's corner kick was crossed from the right and Nunez's header went over the crossbar.
In the 78th minute, Arsenal replaced Jesus with Nketiah. In the 80th minute, Zinchenko and Rice tried to shoot from distance but were blocked by defenders. In the 81st minute, Kai Havertz's shot from the left side of the box went wide of the near post. In the 84th minute, Salah was dissatisfied with the referee's decision and was booked. In the 86th minute, Nketiah brought down Endo and received a yellow card. In the 90th minute, White brought down Van Dijk and was booked. In the first minute of stoppage time, Odegaard played the ball and Saka's shot from the top of the box was blocked by a defender. In the end, Liverpool drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal.
Line-ups:
Liverpool (4-3-3): 1-Alisson/66-Alexander-Arnold, 4-Van Dijk, 5-Konate, 21-Tsimikas (35 mins 2-Gomez)/3-Endo, 8-Szobosloy, 17-Jones (68 mins 38-Hrafenberg)/11-Salah, 18-Gakpo (68 mins 9-Nunez), 7-Dias (68 mins 19-Elliott)
Arsenal (4-3-3): 22-Raya/4-White, 2-Saliba, 6-Gabriel, 35-Zinchenko/8-Odegaard, 41-Rice, 29-Havertz/7-Saka, 9-Jesus (14-Nketiah 78mins), 11-Martinelli (19-Trossard 68mins)