Klopp, Wenger nurse disappointment after thrilling draw

LONDON (Reuters) – After a thrilling end-to-end tussle that showcased the ferocious pace of the Premier League, the only two people who seemingly left Anfield disappointed after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Arsenal were both teams’ managers.

Neither Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp, whose side snatched a 90th-minute equaliser, or Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger, whose team saw their lead at the Premier League summit wiped out, were in celebratory mood after the final whistle.

For Wenger, it was two points dropped, while for Klopp it was hard to see beyond some poor defending that cost his team dear.

For those inside the stadium and those watching at home, however, it was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining games of the season.

Liverpool had taken the lead twice through Roberto Firmino, the second a stunning curled finish into the top corner, but Arsenal struck back with goals from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud, in a blistering opening 25 minutes.

Giroud grabbed his second to make it 3-2 10 minutes into the second half, but the visitors could not hold on and Joe Allen came off the bench to net an equaliser in the 90th minute and snatch a share of the points.

With Leicester City winning 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur, it meant Arsenal now top the table only on goal difference from Claudio Ranieri’s unlikely challengers.

“I’m very disappointed,” Wenger told BT Sport. “Overall, I cannot fault the effort and commitment of the team.

“We had a difficult start. At 3-2, we should have made it 4-2 and didn’t make the right decision in the final third.

“Liverpool fought until the last second… We went 1-0 down and then we started to play. We come out of the game with a lot of positive but still some regrets.”

For Liverpool, who are struggling to build up any head of steam under Klopp and are ninth in the table, 12 points adrift of Wednesday’s opponents, there were some familiar defensive problems for the German coach to ponder.

“It’s an explosion of goals but at the final whistle you cannot ignore there were problems,” Klopp told the BBC.

“Organisation is one thing and sometimes we have a little problem with concentration.

“We gave them two easy goals, after we had to work really hard for our goals…

“At the end we made a real good game and needed luck to make the draw and I think we deserved it.”

(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Alan Baldwin)