Liverpool draw with Arsenal marred by Tsimikas injury: Klopp said.
LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp dominated Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Premier League title rivals Arsenal with Kostas Tsimikasin seriously injured after a clash between the Reds defender and his manager. Klopp side hit back to stay within one point of leaders Arsenal when Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s shot was denied by Gabriel Magalhaes an early headliner at Anfield. However, the Liverpool boss had to deal with a strange incident which saw Tsimikas sidelined for a long time with a broken collarbone. The Greek left-back collided with Arsenal striker Bukayo Saka late in the first half and fell directly in front of him on the flank to Klopp. Klopp kicked off but Tsimikas stayed down before being helped into the tunnel by the shoulder. It is a setback for Liverpool, who were already without first-choice left-back Andrew Robertson with a shoulder problem. CostasTsimikas massively eclipsed her; collarbone problem, definitely broken, so he’s out for a long time, Klopp said. Although Klopp was disappointed with Tsimikas injury, he was encouraged by the way his team responded against Arsenal. andquot;Arsenal have the better start, with corners and free kicks they do very well. We could have scored better, Klopp said. After half time we should have won. If we had won? I don’t know, but we had moments, the top press was there too. Arsenal are really exceptional but the 20 minutes we had we broke them down a bit. We felt that they were trembling and we should use in. Klopp was also furious with VAR’s decision not to award Martin Odegaard a first-half penalty for a clear handball. Yes, I saw it. I’m quite sure that someone will explain to me why it wasn’t a handball, but I don’t know how? he said. How can a guy in the office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe the judge should look elsewhere? A tight battle left Liverpool second, with Arsenal sitting in a favorable position heading into a hectic Christmas schedule. If you are not sure where we belong in the table, the result shows that we belong at the top. Now we have to get out of here, Klopp said. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was delighted with the way his players kept Liverpool in the Cauldron at Anfield. We wanted to do it against a team that plays like this in this atmosphere. To do it today shows that we can go to any country and play like this, andquot; he said. The Gunners have not won in the league at Anfield since 2012, but Arteta insisted they kept themselves in a physical game. A big test and we definitely passed it. The boys were amazing. One of the most intense and passionate games I’ve seen in 20 years in this league, which says a lot, he said. It was an incredible game of football with two teams that raised the bar to another level, both sides wanted to win and played like it. Liverpool is the best team in the world playing this kind of game. One minute we have a chance with Jesus and five seconds later the ball is in your box. With Arsenal in first place at Christmas, Arteta added: It means we can have a nice Christmas dinner with the family tomorrow and then get back to work to prepare for the next game.