Under Benitez, Liverpool twice defeated Arsenal at Anfield in the championship of England, and decided not to interrupt a tradition that was pleasant to itself. But if in the previous games the hosts scored victorious goals only at the very ends of the matches, then on Saturday the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion by the 35th minute, when Peter Crouch scored twice. Arsenal suffered the first major defeat this season, but with all due respect to the London team, I must say that this result did not look so incredible.
Rafael Benitez, with his favorite rotation of the squad, managed to kill two birds with one stone: rest some key players before the upcoming quarterfinal match of the Champions League with PSV and confuse the coaching staff of the rivals. It would have occurred to few people that the head coach of the “Reds” would not let out five of the main players in such an important game at once - Finnan, Sissoko, Riise, Keita and Bellamy. But this decision of Benitez is understandable - all the listed players, except Sissoko, played for their national teams, and they needed a short break. Crouch emerged as the only striker, having just gained shape after an unpleasant injury, because of which he was out of the game for more than twenty days. Gerrard took his place under the striker - due to the absence of the guests of Gilberto Silva. And who would have thought that such a game plan would work one hundred percent.
For the first time in the starting lineup in the championship, Arbeloa came out on the right in defense of the “Reds" (before that he went out in the base in two matches with Barcelona, and on the non-native left flank). And already in the 4th minute after the combination played with Pennant on the right flank, during which the Spaniard and the Englishman played against the wall, giving each other their heels, made an assist pass to Crouchou. The second goal was also scored after a pass from the flank and turned out to be purely British - Fabio Aurelio hung on the left and Crouch scored again, this time with his head. At the beginning of the second half, “Arsenal” was snapped (Adebayor hit the post), but six minutes later the hosts after the penalty kick made the score 3-0 - all the same Aurelio successfully hung on Agger, who before that did not look as confident as usual . After two assists of the first Brazilian in the history of Liverpool, it finally became clear why Rafa Benitez, buying him in the summer, said that “he gives better than Xabi Alonso.” Wenger reacted to the situation with a double substitution, and after the release of Jungberg and Rositsky, the gunners played one ball. But the guests started to rebuild the game obviously late, especially since Peter Crouch just could not leave the field without a hat-trick on that day and in the 81st minute brought the score to a crushing one.
Arsenal, of course, was greatly weakened by the injuries of the leading players - the long-injured Henri and van Persie added the team's vice captain Gilberto Silva, who was injured in the game for the national team. In the absence of the latter, the guests lost the center of the field to the newly minted bunch of Liverpool oporniks Maskerano and Xabi Alonso. But the lack of even the most irreplaceable attacking players and the center of the field cannot justify the ugly defense game - the extreme defenders Ebouet and Clichy allowed free-kick in the penalty area, which led to three out of four goals, and Toure and Gallas could not do anything with the playful Crouch - Especially mocking in this regard was his third ball.
Thus, Liverpool took revenge against Arsenal for three humiliating defeats this season, but the match, contrary to many forecasts, did not at all resemble the uncompromising battle inherent in a derby of this order. Steve Bennett showed only four yellow cards, and the teams made only twenty-five fouls for two, and the players of “Arsenal” broke the rules only eight times. The pace that was not very high for the English championship was primarily due to the player’s fatigue that had accumulated at the end of the season - the team leaders had already played more than 40 matches. The plan Benitez chose for the game did not imply a sparkling attacking football throughout the entire 90 minutes of the meeting, and the quick goal of the hosts at the beginning of the match completely reduced such a need to a minimum. As for Arsenal, taking into account home cups, the season turned out to be extra-long for the team - and the conditional match for the third place, which the teams played at Anfield, did not cause the guests due motivation. In the end, Bolton and the company were too far behind to worry about Arsenal, and from third place to enter the Champions League or from fourth - this is not such a fundamental difference. Especially for the team, which, according to tradition, set as its goal the victory in all tournaments in which it participates, and as a result of which this year remained completely without trophies. England is not Russia, they don’t give bronze medals for the third place, and only victory in the championship is celebrated.
LIVERPOOL - ARSENAL - 4: 1 (2: 0)
Goals: 1: 0 - Crouch (4), 2: 0 - Crouch (35), 3: 0 - Agger (60), 3: 1 - Gallas (73), 4: 1 - Crouch (81).
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Pennant, Xabi Alonso, Mascherano (Riise, 82), Gonzalez (Zenden, 69), Gerrard (Kate, 56), Crouch.
ARSENAL: Lehmann, Ebouet (Hoyt, 82), Kolo Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Gleb, Fabregas, Diabi (Rosicky, 65), Denilson, Baptista (Jungberg, 65), Adebayor.
Warnings: Diabi (21), Lehmann (48), Fabregas (50), Xabi Alonso (54).
March 31. Anfield Road, 15.45.
Judge: Steve Bennett (Kent).