Wed Apr 2 17:08:14 2008

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Liverpool earns hard-fought draw at Arsenal

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London, England (Sports Network) - Liverpool will head back to Anfield on level terms with Arsenal after the Reds earned a 1-1 draw against the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday.

Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal ahead in the 23rd minute, but Dirk Kuyt erased the tally three minutes later and Liverpool held out for a good result that will give them the edge when the teams meet up for the return leg at Anfield next Tuesday.

After a slow opening 20 minutes, Arsenal turned on the pressure and eventually cracked the Liverpool defense.

Mathieu Flamini played a ball over the top from midfield that was right on the foot of Robin van Persie, but as the Dutchman got to the pass inside the box, he stabbed the ball over the net.

Van Persie had another chance just one minute later when Cesc Fabregas slipped him the ball at the edge of the area and he smacked a low shot for the bottom right corner. However, Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina got down and tipped the shot past the post.

The home side continued its period of pressure on the ensuing corner kick when Fabregas played the ball short to Van Persie, and he floated a cross into the middle of the box. Adebayor, who was unmarked, then turned the ball past Reina with his head from the top of the six-yard box.

It didn't take long for the visitors to level the match, however, and they did so when Steven Gerrard picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and carried it into the area on the left. The captain danced past an Arsenal defender and then drove a low cross towards the center of goal.

Arsenal's Gael Clichy was battling with Kuyt in front as the ball came through. Clichy went to the ground to try and knock it away but the ball was knocked over the goal line by Kuyt to give Liverpool a swift reply.

The game settled down over the remainder of the first half, but Liverpool had the first chance after the break with Kuyt forcing a good reaction stop from Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.

The final 40 minutes of the match belonged to Arsenal, but they were unable to push back in front.

Theo Walcott replaced Van Persie after halftime, and the young Englishman almost put his club in front when he hammered a shot from outside the area that whistled just inches past the far post.

Alexander Hleb had an appeal for a penalty turned down in the 66th minute when he weaved his way into the box and appeared to be pulled down by Kuyt. The Liverpool man certainly made contact with Hleb, but it was not enough to draw a penalty from the referee.

Liverpool was clearly content with a draw as they sat back and attempted to counter, while Arsenal was frustrated that they couldn't come up with a second goal.

The last chance of the match came in stoppage time when Adebayor lobbed a cross to the penalty spot for Fabregas, but his header was right at Reina and he easily secured the ball to preserve the 1-1 draw.

The other quarterfinal match on Wednesday produced a small surprise as Fenerbahce beat Chelsea 2-1.

Chelsea went ahead after 13 minutes when Fenerbahce's Deivid redirected the ball into his own net.

However, the home side would rally to score two goals in the final 25 minutes to take the advantage to Stamford Bridge next Tuesday.

Colin Kazim-Richards beat Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini in a one-on-one situation to even the score before Deivid made up for his earlier mistake by drilling a perfect shot from 35 yards into the top left corner with 10 minutes to play for the match winner.