Liverpool blows title race open after thrilling Arsenal draw

Liverpool (England):  Leading 2-0 at Anfield after just 28 minutes, Arsenal’s traveling fans were in dreamland.

By the end, the Premier League leaders were left clinging on for a point as Liverpool blew the title race wide open.

While it was the home crowd celebrating the loudest as the final whistle blew on a thrilling 2-2 draw, Manchester City feels like the biggest winner.

This could prove a pivotal weekend in determining who will be crowned champions, with the gap at the top down to six points and second-place City still having a game in hand on Arsenal.

With the leading pair also still to play at City’s Etihad Stadium at the end of the month, both teams can determine their own fate.

On the face of it, a point at Anfield is a solid-enough result at one of the most daunting stadiums in soccer. But this felt like an opportunity missed after Arsenal had cruised into a commanding position through goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus and looked on course for an eighth straight win in the league.

That was until Granit Xhaka’s confrontation with Trent Alexander-Arnold late in the first half, which led to bookings for both players and also roused the home crowd.

Mohamed Salah scored almost immediately after that flashpoint and in the second half it was the Liverpool of old as the Merseyside club dominated the game.

Salah missed a penalty in the 54th minute and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale produced a string of saves around substitute Roberto Firmino’s equalizer in the 87th.

“When you concede at the end it’s always two points dropped because you have it and you’re suffering in certain moments,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said afterward. “The feeling is ‘Ah we should have done it.’

 “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and we should have done better in the second half.”