Article:Liverpool Battles Arsenal at Anfield

In a Champions League match paired for primetime, but shown on ESPN in the middle of the day in the States, Liverpool battled the Arsenal in a classic battle to see which team would make the Semi-Finals of the Champions League. The game began with Arsenal stepping out to an early lead off a goal by Abou Diaby in the 13th minute of the match. His goal was scored by finishing a through ball from  Aleksandr Hleb in the 6 yard box on the near pole. The initial lead however would not last long with Liverpool scoring the next goal in classic fashion. In the 30th minute Steven Gerrad found Sami Hyypiä's head and then the back of the net on a corner kick. With the score tied 1-1 going into half, Liverpool had begun to set a rapid pace.

In the second half both teams came out strong making several attempts at goal until in the 69th minute, Peter Crouch caught Fernando Torres on a through ball which he planted in the opposite upper corner, leaving the opposing keeper with no chance to touch it. Liverpool held the lead until the 84th minute, when Arsenal found the back of the net, evening the score up. The goal came off of Theo Walcott's impressive work to move the ball up the field and his set up to Emmanuel Adebayor for the goal. Had the score remained 2-2, Arsenal would have won the Semi-final's bid based on aggregate points in the tournement.

Liverpool however found the answer to the 2-2 tie. In the 85th minute, Arsenal's Kolo Touré fouls Ryan Babel in the box giving the Red their chance to take the lead via penalty kick. Gerrard found the back of the net on the shot and thus found the lead. Liverpool would not relinquish this lead for the rest of the game, and tacked on one more goal in stoppage time for the 4-2 win. Dirk Kuyt came up with the final goal off an assist from Babel.

Liverpool will face Chelsea FC in the first leg of the semi-finals either April 22-23.

Fun Fact:

This is the third time in 4 years that Liverpool has made it to the Semi-finals.