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Liverpool Lose at Arsenal After Alisson and Virgil van Dijk Gift Freak Goal to Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal beat Liverpool 3-1 in the EPL. Gabriel Martinelli scored Arsenal's second goal in unusual circumstances after Alisson and Virgil van Dijk messed up.

Robert Summerscales

Liverpool Lose at Arsenal After Alisson and Virgil van Dijk Gift Freak Goal to Gabriel Martinelli
Liverpool Lose at Arsenal After Alisson and Virgil van Dijk Gift Freak Goal to Gabriel Martinelli /

Liverpool lost for only the second time in the Premier League this season when they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.

Bukayo Saka fired the Gunners ahead by scoring for the second time in six days before Liverpool equalized in first-half added time thanks to an own goal by defender Gabriel Magalhaes.

A moment of miscommunication between Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and keeper Alisson then gifted a goal to Gabriel Martinelli in the 67th minute.

With just two and a half minutes of the 90 remaining, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men after Ibrahima Konate was sent off for collecting his second yellow card.

Arsenal substitute Leandro Trossard made sure of Arsenal's victory by scoring his team's third goal of the day moments later. 

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker pictured colliding with teammate Virgil van Dijk (right) moments before Gabriel Martinelli (left) scored Arsenal's second goal in a 3-1 win in February 2024
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker pictured colliding with teammate Virgil van Dijk (right) moments before Gabriel Martinelli (left) scored Arsenal's second goal in a 3-1 win on Sunday :: IMAGO/PA Images/John Walton

The mistake that presented Arsenal with their second goal left many inside the Emirates Stadium stunned.

As Martinelli chased onto a hopeful hoof forward, Van Dijk appeared to be in control of the situation and would ordinarily have headed the ball back to Alisson.

But a rash decision by Alisson saw the keeper charge out of his 18-yard box, causing chaos.

Van Dijk left the ball for his keeper, who miscontrolled and inadvertently diverted it into the path of Martinelli.

Arsenal's no.11 then calmly rolled a low shot into the empty net from just inside the penalty area.

Sunday's win took the Gunners up to second in the Premier League table, just two points behind leaders Liverpool.

Manchester City can also close to within two points of the Reds by beating Brentford on Monday.

Highlights: Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool

Published
Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.