No shot on target, no answer: Arsenal expose Liverpool's Anfield problem

An Alisson error decided it, but the bigger story is a home attack that has scored four league goals in five games and could not make David Raya work once.

For sixteen minutes on Sunday, Liverpool looked like a side still finding the temperature of the game. Then Alisson Becker played a loose pass towards Jérémy Jacquet, Arsenal won it, Noni Madueke and Declan Rice combined down the right, and Kai Havertz tapped in at the far post. It was the only goal, and it was enough (ESPN).

What followed was the story of Liverpool's autumn in miniature. They had more of the ball (56 per cent) and more shots (17 to 10), and they hit the woodwork through a Florian Wirtz free-kick. They did not, however, make David Raya work once. It was the first Anfield league game without a Liverpool shot on target since records began in 2003, a run of 442 matches (LBC).

The result leaves Liverpool fifth on 15 points from nine games, nine behind the leaders and the reigning champions, Arsenal, who have now won all five league games this season in which they scored first. It was also Arsenal's first league win at Anfield since 2012 (NBC Sports table; LBC).

An Anfield problem, not a form problem

The scoreline flatters nobody, but the pattern is the worry. Liverpool have scored four league goals in five home games, which Sports Mole says equals their worst Anfield return (via LiveScore). Away from home they have looked freer: wins at Ipswich, Bournemouth and Brentford, and six goals in Linz in the Champions League.

At Anfield, opponents have been content to sit in a low block and let Liverpool cross. Against Arsenal the chances came from set pieces and wide deliveries: Mac Allister heading an unmarked chance over from Milos Kerkez's cross, Isak just failing to reach Bradley Barcola's inswinger, and a late Víctor Muñoz header that lacked the power to trouble Raya (liverpoolfc.com).

Andoni Iraola made one change from the 2-0 win over Brighton, handing Trey Nyoni his first Premier League start ahead of Ryan Gravenberch. The 19-year-old was replaced by Dominik Szoboszlai after 58 minutes, Rio Ngumoha came on for Cody Gakpo at 67, and a triple change at 82 brought on Kostas Tsimikas, Lewis Koumas and Muñoz (liverpoolfc.com).

The penalty that wasn't, and the dive debate

Iraola was candid about where the game was lost. “I think we have to blame the start of the game,” he said, adding that until the goal his side were not “at the level of the rest of the game” (PA via AOL).

The louder line came on VAR. Replays showed Jurrien Timber pulling Alexander Isak's shirt as he rose for a header, and neither referee Andy Madley nor VAR Stuart Attwell intervened. “You have to dive, if you don't dive they won't call it,” Iraola told the BBC (Dragon Football).

Virgil van Dijk was blunter still: “Everyone has seen it... In the end it wasn't given and we lose” (SB Nation via Yahoo).

Those remarks will keep the incident alive this week, and a manager publicly telling his players to go down invites scrutiny. No response from the referees' body had been reported by Monday morning.

The goalkeeper question and the week ahead

The other conversation is in goal. Alisson's error was the decisive moment, though he later tipped a low Christos Tzolis shot around the post and saved from Rice. His contract runs to 2027, and Football Insider reported in September that no new deal is planned (Football365). Giorgi Mamardashvili started Wednesday's cup tie.

Iraola has resisted big statements all autumn; on Friday he said it was “too early to start looking at the standings” (ESPN). Sunday's result makes that caution look wise. The next eight days bring a trip to Istanbul and a Sunday visit to Crystal Palace, who are 18th, before the international break. Three points at Selhurst Park and a positive result in Turkey would reset the mood.

Shootout nerve sends a much-changed Liverpool past Chelsea

A much-changed side drew 1-1 and won 6-5 on penalties, setting up a quarter-final with Iraola's old club.

Midweek brought the relief. Against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup fourth round, Iraola made seven changes and Liverpool still found a way through: 1-1 after 90 minutes, then 6-5 on penalties (ESPN).

Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead from the spot on 40 minutes and Cody Gakpo levelled with a penalty three minutes later. The underlying numbers favoured Liverpool (xG 2.10 to 1.82, per ESPN), and the academy pair of Nyoni and Ngumoha started alongside James McConnell and Lewis Koumas.

“The players have done a very big effort today and at least we get the reward of being in the quarter-finals,” Iraola said (liverpoolfc.com). The draw then handed him the one tie he did not want: his former club Bournemouth at Anfield. “The only team that I don't want is Bournemouth,” he admitted (ESPN). The date is still to be confirmed.

These are the Digest's own ratings out of 10, informed by the cited match reports and statistics (ESPN, liverpoolfc.com, Goal, LFCGlobe). Substitutes who played fewer than ten minutes are not rated: Tsimikas, Koumas and Muñoz against Arsenal; Mac Allister and Isak against Chelsea.

Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal (Premier League, Sunday)

Digest ratings for Liverpool v Arsenal: Wirtz and Araújo top the side on 7; Alisson's 4 is the lowest.

Alisson 4: His loose pass started the move for the goal; later tipped a Tzolis shot wide and saved from Rice.

Virgil van Dijk 6: Composed at the back; his late header led to a scramble that Arsenal cleared.

Jérémy Jacquet 6: Receiver of the fateful pass rather than the culprit; tidy otherwise.

Ronald Araújo 7: Liverpool's most assured defender and pushed forward late; one effort blocked.

Milos Kerkez 6: Supplied the cross Mac Allister headed over; replaced on 82.

Trey Nyoni 6: Bright on his first league start before making way on 58.

Alexis Mac Allister 5: Headed an unmarked chance over and was booked after a clash with Timber.

Florian Wirtz 7: Hit the crossbar with a free-kick, Liverpool's closest effort of the afternoon.

Bradley Barcola 5: One dangerous inswinging cross, little else; booked before half-time.

Cody Gakpo 5: A penalty appeal waved away after a Tzolis challenge; quiet otherwise.

Alexander Isak 5: Fired over from a tight angle; denied a possible penalty when Timber pulled his shirt.

Dominik Szoboszlai 5: Back from a hamstring injury, on for Nyoni at 58; added energy but no edge.

Rio Ngumoha 5: On for Gakpo at 67 as Liverpool chased an equaliser.

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, won 6-5 on penalties (Carabao Cup, Wednesday)

Giorgi Mamardashvili 6: Three saves in normal time, per ESPN; beaten only from the spot.

Joe Gomez 6: Started in a rotated back four that conceded only a penalty.

Virgil van Dijk 6: Played 72 minutes before Jacquet replaced him.

Ronald Araújo 6: Played the full 90 minutes in the rotated defence.

Kostas Tsimikas 6: Started in defence and played the full 90 minutes.

Ryan Gravenberch 6: Anchored midfield for the full 90 minutes.

Trey Nyoni 7: Named supporters' player of the match by one fan site; replaced on 81.

James McConnell 6: Started in the attacking midfield line before Wirtz replaced him on 59.

Lewis Koumas 6: Started before giving way to Barcola on 59.

Rio Ngumoha 6: Started in the front line before Isak replaced him on 82.

Cody Gakpo 7: Converted the 43rd-minute penalty that took the tie to a shootout.

Bradley Barcola 6: Came on at 59 as Liverpool pushed for a winner.

Florian Wirtz 6: Came on at 59 alongside Barcola.

Jérémy Jacquet 6: On for Van Dijk at 72; no alarms.

Kuyt's homecoming, Fenerbahçe's crisis

A club in turmoil hands its first Champions League night under an interim coach to a Liverpool legend.

Few fixtures this season carry a better story for Liverpool. Fenerbahçe accepted İsmail Kartal's resignation on October 27 after a chaotic run that included a 2-1 derby defeat at Galatasaray and a 6-0 humiliation at Aston Villa in this competition. Their caretaker is Dirk Kuyt, six seasons a Liverpool forward and a scorer in the 2007 Champions League final (ESPN/AP).

Kuyt, who also played for Fenerbahçe from 2012 to 2015, had joined as Kartal's assistant in pre-season. His first game in charge went badly: a 2-1 home defeat by Göztepe on Saturday. FotMob lists Fenerbahçe sixth in the Süper Lig, on 16 points from ten games (FotMob; Goal).

System and danger men

Expect a 4-2-3-1, with N'Golo Kanté and Matteo Guendouzi among the midfield options and Vedat Muriqi (seven league goals) leading the line. Mason Greenwood, who missed the Göztepe game through illness, has trained fully and is available, per Turkish broadcaster NTV (NTV). Romelu Lukaku is also in the squad.

The weakness is plain: a team that has won none of its three league-phase games and shipped six at Villa Park. They also go into the game without defender Kojo Oppong and Nathan Aké, according to NTV.

For Liverpool, the opportunity is to turn Sunday's sterile possession into chances against a side low on confidence. A win would take Iraola's side to 12 points with four league-phase games left: Club Brugge away, Porto at home, Inter away and Lens at home (UEFA; NBC Sports).

Midfield is the 2027 project, and Camara is the name

A €50m January move for Monaco's Lamine Camara is the week's headline, but the paper trail is thinner than the noise.

The biggest Liverpool transfer story of the week surfaced on Monday: Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb reported that Liverpool have a €50m (about £42m) offer ready for Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, with the aim of agreeing a deal before the window opens (Football365). Certainty: rumour. No bid has been confirmed, and the figure is single-sourced.

The interest itself is better grounded. Fabrizio Romano said on October 20 that Liverpool are tracking the 22-year-old and would act only for “the right opportunity”, in January or the summer, adding that midfield is a 2027 focus (TEAMtalk).

Romano has also said Bournemouth's Alex Scott could leave in January for a big proposal, with a price above £100m (TEAMtalk). Against that, David Lynch reports midfield is not a January priority and that a large mid-season fee would surprise him (Anfield Index via Yahoo). Certainty for both: monitoring.

The context is a single-sourced report from Sky Sports Switzerland that the club is leaning towards selling Alexis Mac Allister next summer, despite his wish to stay; his contract runs to 2028 (Goal).

Right-back cover with Frimpong out

Jeremie Frimpong's muscle injury, picked up at Brentford, has revived interest in Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto. Liverpool tried a deadline-day loan in September; Chelsea wanted a permanent sale. Dean Jones says Chelsea's €80m summer valuation is being re-evaluated (TEAMtalk). Certainty: monitoring. Conor Bradley's return, possibly for Sunderland on December 2, may ease the need (Evening Standard via Yahoo).

Contracts and loans

Rio Ngumoha is in “active conversations” over a new long-term deal, according to Romano; his current contract runs to 2028 (Empire of the Kop). Alisson and Virgil van Dijk are both out of contract in 2027, and no new deal has been agreed for either.

On loan at Valencia, Harvey Elliott has played 152 La Liga minutes off the bench and was sent off against Villarreal on October 24. The Daily Mail's Julian Burgos says Valencia could end the loan in January (Roundtable via Yahoo). Certainty: speculation.

The Rumour Mill

Off the pitch

No new ownership news broke this week. The backdrop: FSG sold a minority stake in August to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, now vice-chair, with Jeff Bezos among the investors (Sky Sports). Michael Edwards left as FSG's CEO of football in July (Sky Sports), Richard Hughes joined Al-Hilal in September (Fox Sports/AP), and Julian Ward returned as sporting director on September 26 (Yahoo).

The new Squad Cost Ratio, which caps squad spending at 85 per cent of revenue, replaced PSR this season (Sky Sports). Turkish Airlines will become front-of-shirt sponsor from June 2027 (Al Jazeera), a detail that adds a little colour to Wednesday's trip to Istanbul.

Nyoni's rise and Iraola's rotation

The 19-year-old started both games this week, and the manager is leaning on his depth to cover a thin right side.

Andoni Iraola, appointed in June to replace Arne Slot (ESPN), has been happy to rotate, and this week showed why. Seven changes for the cup tie, then only one change for Arsenal: Trey Nyoni in for Ryan Gravenberch. The academy midfielder started both games.

The back four has been reshaped by injury. With Frimpong out, Iraola built his defence against Arsenal from Van Dijk, Jérémy Jacquet, Ronald Araújo and Milos Kerkez. Against Chelsea, Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas came in.

Set pieces and the attack

Florian Wirtz is taking direct free-kicks and hit the bar on Sunday; Cody Gakpo took the penalty against Chelsea. Alexander Isak leads the line, with Bradley Barcola and Gakpo wide. The worry is end product at home, covered in The Lead.

Sources: Evening Standard via Yahoo, liverpoolfc.com team news.

Inglethorpe's hat-trick headlines a 7-0

The U18 captain scored three as Liverpool ran riot in the second half against Sunderland at Kirkby.

It was goalless at half-time. Then Liverpool's U18s scored seven in 37 minutes against Sunderland on Saturday. Finn Inglethorpe, the 18-year-old captain, scored on 50, 66 and 83 minutes (the last a penalty) for his first Liverpool hat-trick and his tenth goal of the season (match report; Inglethorpe interview).

Daniel Majekodunmi, Erik Farkas (two, one a free-kick) and Lenix Conde completed the scoring, and AJ Yeguo was a constant threat down the left. Simon Wiles's side host Ipswich in the U18 Premier League Cup on Saturday.

U21s and the Youth League

Rob Page's U21s did not play this week. Their last game was a 2-2 draw at Chelsea on October 24, with goals from Will Wright and a Jayden Danns free-kick. They finish their EFL Trophy group at Huddersfield on November 10 (liverpoolfc.com). The UEFA Youth League side play Fenerbahçe in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Academy graduates in the first team

Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha played in both senior games this week, and James McConnell and Lewis Koumas started against Chelsea. A BBC Sport report last month said a £20m upgrade of the Kirkby academy is due by 2028 (BBC via Yahoo).

Loan watch

A fifth game without a win as West Ham run riot

Gareth Taylor's side lost 4-1 in east London and now face Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool FC Women were behind inside the first ten minutes at West Ham on Sunday, when Viviane Asseyi converted a penalty after Fuka Nagano tripped her. Leila Wandeler added a second and a deflected Laia Codina shot made it 3-0 at half-time. Asseyi's free-kick just after the hour made it four (liverpoolfc.com).

Vivien Endemann, back from injury and on at half-time, scored a late deflected consolation. Sam Kerr started after missing three games, and Alice Bergstrom was Liverpool's most dangerous outlet.

The week before, Liverpool drew 2-2 with London City Lionesses at St Helens, rescued by a 92nd-minute own goal after Beata Olsson's early penalty (liverpoolfc.com). That leaves them 11th of 14 on eight points from eight games; Chelsea lead on 22 (Sky Sports).

Injuries and the Anfield date

Ceri Holland is “really ahead of schedule” and could return within a game or two, while Lily Woodham missed West Ham (liverpoolfc.com). Mao Itamura and Endemann are back. Next up is Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, November 8, at 4:00 AM Pacific. A US broadcaster had not been confirmed when we went to press.

No international matches were played by Liverpool players this week. The November international window runs from November 9 to 17, straight after the Crystal Palace game, with two matches per national team (liverpoolfc.com). Most squads are due to be named later this week, and we will cover every call-up in next Monday's edition.

In European action, Liverpool's next stop is Istanbul on Wednesday. On loan in Spain, Harvey Elliott sat out Valencia's win at Elche through suspension and Ifeanyi Ndukwe started for Levante against Atlético Madrid; in Austria, Ármin Pécsi kept a clean sheet for Hartberg (details in Kirkby).

Liverpool FC Women had no international fixtures this week. England's women are next in action in the World Cup play-offs in late November or early December.

Kickoffs are converted to Pacific time (US clocks went back on November 1; UK clocks on October 25). Sources: Paramount+, Crystal Palace, World Soccer Talk, liverpoolfc.com on the U18s, liverpoolfc.com on the women.

Crystal Palace in brief

Palace sit 18th on seven points from nine games, with a goal difference of minus 12, so Sunday is a game Liverpool will be expected to win (NBC Sports).

Premier League top six

Premier League after Week 9 (Nov 1): Arsenal 24, Manchester City 21, Brighton 19, Chelsea 16, Liverpool 15, Brentford 14. Source: NBC Sports.