Depleted Liverpool moved into the fourth round of the FA Cup as they earned a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Arsenal.
The Reds had to soak up plenty of pressure at the Emirates Stadium but got their reward when Gunners defender Jakub Kiwior headed into his own net with 10 minutes remaining before Luis Diaz put the gloss on the win in stoppage-time.
Jurgen Klopp's Premier League leaders were without a host of key players, including talisman Mo Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk, but showed tremendous resolve to dump one of their title rivals out of the historic competition.
Liverpool were put on the backfoot from the outset, with Arsenal threatening inside three minutes when Reiss Nelson latched on to a long ball but he was forced wide by visiting keeper Alisson Becker and steered his shot into the side netting.
On 11 minutes, the Gunners went even closer to scoring after Joe Gomez lost possession deep in Reds territory. Ibrahima Konate made an important block inside the box to thwart Nelson’s goalbound attempt before Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard cannoned an effort against the crossbar,
Liverpool mustered their first opportunity in the 22nd minute when Darwin Nunez headed wide from a corner. Alisson then came to the Reds’ rescue when he did well to tip Ben White’s fizzing effort over the bar before Kai Havertz nodded off target from the subsequent corner. The Germany international would again be denied by Alisson in the 44th minute before Klopp’s troops went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time. Cody Gakpo slipped in Trent Alexander-Arnold and his powerful shot beat home stopper Aaron Ramsdale - but the bar was in the way.
Liverpool made a decent start to the second period and Nunez thought he'd put his side ahead in the 54th minute but curled his shot just wide of the far corner. Arsenal then threatened with a well-worked free-kick but Bukayo Saka prodded off target at the back stick.
Neither side wanted a replay - especially Liverpool. They started to threaten on the counter-attack, with Luis Diaz forcing a good save from Ramsdale in the 77th minute. And three minutes later, the Reds took the lead. Alexander-Arnold whipped in a teasing free-kick into a dangerous area and Kiwior could only head into his own net. And in stoppage-time, Liverpool confirmed their triumph when they hit Arsenal at breakneck speed and Diaz rounded off the move to put the visitors into the hat for the next round of the FA Cup.
Here's how we rated the Liverpool players.
1. Alisson Becker - 8
Did superb to force Nelson wide and made several good saves in the first half - the best from White. Not tested as much in the second period but was alert to push out a deflected cross.
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold - 8
Had to do his share of defending in the first half before going agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock. Not as influential as he can be in the second half but was the engineer of the match-winner with his superb free-kick.
3. Ibrahima Konate - 8
Block from Nelson proved pivotal to keep the game goalless in the first half. Made several important blocks in the second half and soaked up pressure immensely.
4. Jarell Quansah - 8
Made three important challenges in the first half - including a robust tackle on Bukayo Saka - but did look a little shaky on the ball at times. Gave Arsenal nothing in the second half.