Sunday’s match was defined by a brilliant free-kick, but the way it came about showed the difference between the clubs’ managers
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here was a time, not that long ago, when almost all big games were stiflingly tense affairs – cautious, cagey, almost unwatchable but for the exquisite tension, the sense that this was too important to expect the football to be entertaining. The goal-heavy thrillers of the Pep Guardiola-Jürgen Klopp rivalry were a welcome diversion, but they always felt oddly transgressive – were we sure major clashes were supposed to be that much fun? In that sense, Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday fit into a long-established tradition; in time the tedium will fall away in the collective memory and all that will remain is the majesty of Dominik Szoboszlai’s match-winning free-kick.
Two other more recent traditions were observed amid the anxiety of Anfield: that Arne Slot will always somehow find a way, and that Arsenal will always somehow come up short. Few managers have ever had such a golden touch as Slot; he has a remarkable capacity to make decisions that don’t just change the outcome of a game, but do so in an obvious and unmissable way.
Liverpool have not been anywhere near their best this season. They have looked open and unbalanced. They are, of course, dealing with their grief at the death of Diogo Jota. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez have been sold. Five senior players have arrived, with Alexander Isak set to join that list. And yet at the international break, they stand top of the Premier League table as the only side with three wins from three. Against Bournemouth and Newcastle, they let slip two-goal advantages and then regained the lead with goals from substitutes.
