Jürgen Klopp moved away from the crowd and drew his power over his face. His actions were by a man who knew what came next was not going to be good and that was proven.
All night he saw Bernd Leno, Arsenal’s goalkeeper, keep his team in trouble. Lino, in his flashy yellow outfit, was dressed like some kind of superhero, flying left and right to keep the balls from getting past him. The penalty shootout was going to be in his alley.
Liverpool couldn’t get past it in regular time, so why would it be any different from 12 yards? Klopp’s behavior indicated that he was not full of optimism, and for once, he had good reason to stand by the pessimism.
Bernd Leno was the Arsenal champion after saving two penalties to secure a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Gunners goalkeeper Harry Wilson was banned after 90 minutes as the Reds strikers were blocked at Anfield
Joe Willock scored the winning penalty for Arsenal that left them late to win the penalty shootout 5-4.
Arsenal players are celebrating the victory and will now face Manchester City at home in the December quarter-finals
Divock Origi and Harry Wilson found themselves autumn men. Lino outdid both and enabled Joe Willock, with a sloppy kick under the body of Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian, to propel Arsenal to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
“I (Lino) told him I wasn’t happy with him after the match!” He found some joke, Klopp said. “I wanted to win and didn’t see much wrong with our performance, but it didn’t work for us. You have to score and we didn’t.
Klopp was right in saying Liverpool had enough chances to win, but the credit goes to Arsenal, who made eight changes to the team they swept here three days ago, yet showed the resilience and courage to stay put when the going gets tough.
Liverpool took advantage of the penalty shootout only to be tied up immediately when Divock Origi saved his shot
Takumi Minamino missed Liverpool’s best chance to score during the first period when a rebound hit the bar
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (second from right) suffered an hour-long calm before being substituted in the 61st minute of the match
Arsenal striker Eddie Nikitia missed an early opportunity to put his side ahead after being frustrated by Liverpool’s Adrian.
This was how Liverpool intended to win, Mohamed Salah began. In his three years at Anfield, his only participation in the League Cup was three minutes when Liverpool were trying to tie Chelsea in the third round in September 2018. However, his inclusion here did not pay off.
It was Arsenal who saw the goal for the first time in the 20th minute, but Eddie Nikitiah was frustrated by Adrian’s perfectly-timed challenge, as the goalkeeper stole the ball from Nikitia’s foot as he tried to shoot. He broke a break and Arsenal would have received a penalty. They will get their chance later.
Liverpool thought they had a penalty kick in the 41st minute, when Diogo Jota walked away from Danny Ceballos, but full credit to referee Kevin Friend who made the perfect call, it was discovered that the violation happened for a small part outside the Arsenal area.
James Milner’s free kick did not result in anything and Arsenal managed to keep her away, but Liverpool managed to redirect the attack and a cross from Marco Groich managed to clear Jota, who sneaked back to the blind side, but the Portuguese header was pushed away by Lino. Then he got some luck as Taki Minamino somehow hit the ball into the crossbar. It was a stark loss.
Half the time it didn’t kill Liverpool’s momentum. They started again quickly, making a comeback at Arsenal, and Lino came back to save his team in the 52nd minute when he quickly descended to save the poke of Virgil van Dijk’s toe that seemed to be heading into the bottom corner.
This was a sign of things to come. Arteta made eight changes to the team that played here on Monday but Lino’s change never crossed his mind and with good reason; Arteta believed Leno was one of the best goalkeepers in Europe and was about to have a great opportunity to show why.
Arsenal’s Dani Ceballos performs a sliding challenge against Liverpool’s Diogo Jota during the close first half
Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dyck jokes with teammate Jordan Henderson after his departure as a substitute in the second half
Jürgen Klopp was frustrated at the Liverpool touchline, as his team tried to destroy Arsenal
“I’m really happy with his performance,” said Arteta, who will face Manchester City in the quarter-finals. “It really helped us get to the next round.”
This was an understatement. First, there was a downhill dive to his left to push a Grujic car around the shaft. The Serbian shot was strong and correct but Lino equaled the challenge in the 58th minute, ensuring there was no rebound for those on the Reds who were getting close.
It would have been better to come in the 61st minute when Gota had a superb control over a pass from Curtis Jones and drilled a shot into the top corner, but, once again, Leno pushed the ball away. Jota, in growing rage, puffed his cheeks and asked what he needed to win this battle.
Arsenal recovered most of the match, and manager Mikel Arteta was the mastermind of his side’s impressive Cup win.
Arsenal keeper Lino directs a long ball into the penalty area in front of his defenders in an excellent performance.
Lino delivered a series of excellent balls to keep Liverpool in trouble in the fourth round, especially during the second half
The two teams will meet at Anfield for the second time in a week, following Monday’s Premier League match
This was Liverpool’s dominance, and there was a hidden feeling that Arsenal would make them pay for their chances, and in fact, that moment was supposed to come in the 69th minute when Nicholas Pepe sent a cross to Rob Holding, but from close range, he headed straight. In Adrian.
Arteta had screamed and worked his way through the match, demanding that every decision be given to Arsenal, but he couldn’t help but look in disbelief as his team’s best moments had passed. It doesn’t have to be a concern. Leno was there to protect them, until the very end.
“We won this match and it’s very good for the goalkeeper and we see smiling faces after the match,” said Lino. But I prefer to win this match without penalties.
Maybe so. However, the fuss of doing it this way will last a little longer.
