Liverpool duo Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate leave Gary Lineker crying with laughter
Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate celebrated Liverpool’s first goal against Arsenal in a unique way.
Gary Lineker was left amused by Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate’s unique way of celebrating Liverpool’s first goal in their FA Cup third round victory over Arsenal. The Reds left it late to pull off a smash-and-grab at the Emirates Stadium, with an own goal from Jakub Kiwior and a second courtesy of Luis Diaz seeing the visitors claim the spoils.
Arsenal dominated proceedings in the first half but missed a number of golden chances and were punished by Liverpool after the break. Jurgen Klopp’s side grew into the game as it went on and got their reward with 10 minutes remaining when Kiwior turned the ball into his own net from a Liverpool corner.
A number of Liverpool players ran over to the away end to celebrate in front of their fans, with one or two supporters making their way onto the pitch and joining in. One unlucky fan ended up on the receiving end of a few hard slaps from Nunez, who jumped on top of the huddle before getting carried away and repeatedly slapping the top of the man’s head.
Konate was the next player to steam in, with the Frenchman pulling off the fan’s hat before throwing it back into the away end. The bizarre scenes prompted a response from Lineker, who shared a clip of the incident on social media alongside three cry-laughing emojis.
Liverpool had another goal to celebrate before the final whistle, with Diaz finding the back of the net in stoppage time to wrap up the result and send Arsenal crashing out of the FA Cup. Konate was full of praise for his team-mates in his post-match interview, telling BBC Sport: “Yes, I am really happy but I think the man of the match was all of the team.
“I am very happy. We go through to the next round. Yes, of course [I am happy]. It’s hard to play a lot of games but we love it. We did it two years ago, we won two cups. I hope this season is different [win more]. Fingers crossed.”
Liverpool boss Klopp was equally delighted with his team’s performance, adding: “I’m super proud. It’s a super difficult draw, maybe the most difficult we could have got. With all the things we had to consider coming here, Arsenal lined up slightly different, that was smart.
“We changed a bit at half-time. We were really in the game in the second half. We scored the goals and brought the kids on. We fought for 95 minutes. We have a winter break now. It was obvious there would be changes, today the boys bought into it and we could make them. Not too many. In the end we came through.”
Mikel Arteta makes bold ‘best team in Europe’ claim after Liverpool beats Arsenal
Mikel Arteta was left frustrated with his side’s finishing again as Liverpool dumped Arsenal out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta labeled Liverpool as the ‘best team in Europe’ after the Reds’ win over Arsenal in the FA Cup, although he claimed the Gunners were the better side. It is the name of the Reds that will be in the hat for the fourth round.
Liverpool booked its place in tomorrow’s draw with a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Both goals arrived late on, with Jakub Kiwior turning into his own net before Luis Díaz struck in stoppage time to seal the result.
The Reds had to ride their luck in the first half and probably should have found themselves behind at the break. They were helped though by some poor finishing from their hosts, with Arsenal wasting numerous chances to take the lead.
Jürgen Klopp made tweaks to his side at half-time, and his changes clearly worked as Liverpool posed much more of a threat after the break. Their reward finally arrived as the clock ticked into the final 10 minutes, with Arsenal unable to come up with a response before Díaz well and truly settled matters.
It’s now three defeats in a row in all competitions for Arteta’s side, while they’ve also only picked up one win in their last seven. The Gunners’ profligacy is clearly becoming a big problem for their manager.
“Well the performance was there and the amount of chances too,” Arteta told BBC Sport after the defeat to Liverpool. “We just have to win the game, but we lost it and we are not capitalizing. To win games we need to capitalize.
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“When you are better than the best team in Europe and you generate that amount of chances… I have not seen a team do it against them like we have done it. It is not enough. The reality is, it is not enough.
“Listen, [do I say] play worse than Liverpool, be worse and we will win the game? When my team plays with this confidence what can I do? I am still behind them 100 per cent. It is what it is and we have to continue to play the same way and be more efficient.”
Liverpool.com says: It’s a huge compliment from Arteta to call Liverpool the best team in Europe, although you wonder if he’s just doing that to soften the blow of his own side being poor in front of goal. As good as Liverpool was in the second half, you could certainly argue that the Reds should have been out of the game at half-time.
Arteta is in real danger of letting his side’s season spiral out of control if he can’t find an answer to their profligacy. They’re now in the hunt for just two trophies, and based on recent evidence, you certainly wouldn’t back them for either the Premier League or Champions League.
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