Seemingly by design, the Anfield pitch for Saturday’s match between Liverpool and Arsenal was overwatered, and far more slippery than the players were prepared for.
Throughout the game, both sets of players slipped over, but Arsenal seemed to be particularly affected by the poor conditions.
The pitch almost cost Arsenal a goal on two occasions, with Martin Odegaard slipping and his hand falling on the ball for a potential penalty, before another slip from Oleksandr Zinchenko allowed Liverpool in on goal later in the match.
Fortunately for the Gunners, the penalty wasn’t given, and Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the crossbar.
In the end, the pitch ended up punishing Liverpool instead.
The most notable incident was the clash between Bukayo Saka and Kostas Tsimikas. The two players went for the ball, with Saka looking to use his body to hold the left-back off.
But as Saka planted his foot, it slid out from underneath him, carrying his full momentum into Tsimikas and sending him flying into Jurgen Klopp.
There was nothing the Arsenal winger could have done to prevent the collision, thanks to the Liverpool grounds staff, but the result was a broken collarbone for Tsimikas and an impending extended injury absence.
Another slip put both Saka and Ryan Gravenberch in danger, as the Arsenal man clearly won the ball but his sliding boot carried him into his opponent.
Gravenberch was sent flying, and Saka’s knee came dangerously close to hyperextending.
We talk about players welfare and protecting the players. This could’ve ended in horror. Just look at Saka’s knee.
Luis Diaz also suffered an impact knee injury in the overwatered conditions, though it’s not believed to be too serious. On the final whistle, Liverpool were lucky to leave the field with just one serious injury.
It’s par for the course for clubs to alter the conditions of their playing surface to try and gain an advantage by throwing off an opponent. You can clearly see how it might have won Liverpool the game.
But they were playing with fire, and they can only blame themselves that they got burned.
