KOP DREAM BERND OUT
Leno’s heroics send Liverpool crashing to shootout defeat
BERND LENO was Arsenal’s hero as he denied Liverpool to hand his side a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester City.
The Gunners avenged the penalty shootout defeat here at the same stage of the competition last season.
Leno twice saved in another shootout – from Divock Origi and Harry Wilson – leaving Joe Willock to put his side through.
But it was the German keeper’s defiance during the 90 minutes, as Liverpool launched a storm after the break at Anfield, which turned the tie, with six sensational saves to keep his team in it… and take them to that dramatic shootout finale.
The life was squeezed out of the tie by Mikel Arteta’s tactics, not for the first time here this week, of sitting deep behind the ball, and hoping to expose a frustrated Liverpool on the break.
It restricted the Reds, with their first shot on target not coming until the 34th minute, but Arsenal, too, who threatened only when a run and cross from Nicolas Pepe found Eddie Nketiah at the far post. But Adrian, in the home goal, smothered the danger.
Then, from nowhere, the game came to life, as Arsenal lost possession on the edge of their own box, with referee Kevin Friend deeming a desperate foul on Diogo Jota by Cedric just outside the box. But it was mighty, mighty close.
That unsettled the visitors, and inspired a prolonged spell of danger from Liverpool, who should have been ahead when, from Marko Grujic’s deep cross, Jota’s header was saved, and Takumi Minamino blazed the rebound against the bar.
That produced a barrage after the break with only Leno between Arsenal and another sizeable defeat, just as they suffered here on Monday night.
The Premier League humbling showed the distance Arteta still has to travel with this Arsenal team and, for the first hour or so, the gap between the two shadow squads, with Liverpool making nine changes and the Gunners eight, seemed vast too.
Leno did brilliantly to deny Virgil van Dijk, who produced a sweet first-time shot from Grujic’s header back. The German then flung himself to his left to deny Grujic – who impressed in the middle.
He wasn’t finished either. In the space of 60 seconds, Jota was denied when he raced onto Curtis Jones’ lofted ball, then turned over a Grujic header.
Arsenal produced little until a corner routine gave Rob Holding a heading chance, but his attempt was beaten away by Adrian. That took us to penalties and more Leno heroics.