Liverpool climbed back to the top of the Premier League, if only for less than 24 hours, after they 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday evening.
Despite not being able to close out the victory, it was still encouraging to see Jurgen Klopp’s men maintain their unbeaten run and keep the pressure on title rivals Manchester City.
In a pulsating game at the Emirates, Alexandre Lacazette gave the hosts had a share of the spoils after James Milner had put the Reds in front early in the second half.
In an among all the action and reaction from an eventful evening was several moments which went under the radar on first inspection report the Liverpool Echo.
Van Dijk and Gomez and how they recover
Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk are fast becoming one of the best defensive pairings around in the top flight and both had to be at their best to keep a top-heavy Arsenal side quiet for long spells.
Gomez showed his incredible turn of pace before expertly timing a block on a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang effort early in the first half. The Gabon international’s effort rippled the side netting and could have found the inside had Gomez not displayed a superb recovery.
His more senior partner van Dijk also showcased his talents in a one-on-one with Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the second half.
As the Armenian attempted to run away from the Dutch international captain, van Dijk chased down the attacker before calmly muscling him out the way and allowing Gomez the chance to comfortably clear the danger.
It was another supreme show of defensive nous from the £75m man who has been so key before Liverpool’s imperious form at the back.
Rio Ferdinand’s selfie
Liverpool fan Joe Jaggar spied an opportune chance to play a prank on Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand as he waited for the game to kick off at the Emirates.
The Reds supporter asked BT Sport analyst Ferdinand if he was able to get a photo with his son - before handing him the phone and getting Ferdinand to take the picture of father and son himself!
And Ferdinand, to his credit, did just that - while also giving Joe a photo of himself that he’ll remember for some time.
The Reds fan shared the humorous incident online, saying: “Just called Rio Ferdinand over and said is he okay for a quick photo with the little man.
“Passed him my phone and said it’s one tap on the middle button. So glad hatred in football still exists at certain levels.”
Keown’s rant
After watching Mohamed Salah fail to add to the seven goals he has scored so far this season, Martin Keown took aim.
Salah has scored a jaw-dropping 51 goals in just 67 Liverpool appearances since joining in the summer of 2017 making him the quickest Reds player in history to reach such a figure.
He finished his first full season in the Premier League with a 32-goal haul en route to winning literally dozens of personal accolades.
BT Sport analyst Keown though, remained nonplussed after the Egyptian’s Emirates display.
“Mohamed Salah doesn’t look the real deal to me,” he said.
“He was very quiet today. Something is wrong. He doesn’t seem to want to get hurt. He’s not the same player.”
There’s just no pleasing some people...
