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The contrast could not have been starker on a day that will be one of the most telling by season’s end.
In the 90th minute, Liverpool was being held 0-0 against Brentford despite 37 shot attempts — the most without a goal by a visiting team in more than 20 years.
Mo Salah wasn’t hitting the mark, seemingly in a mini-slump going back to chances missed in the previous two matches, draws against Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.
Manager Arne Slot brought on misfiring striker Darwin Nunez, who had just two goals all season and hadn’t scored since early November in a desperate bid to avoid a third straight draw, six points dropped out of a possible nine.
While the clock ticked away, the Liverpool pressure finally burst Brentford’s resistance, Nunez scored twice in injury time, doubling his season’s total in the space of four minutes to secure all three points.
Two hours later, Arsenal were in the midst of blowing a 2-0 lead at home to Aston Villa, drawing 2-2 and surrendering another two points to Liverpool.
Slot’s men now hold a six-point lead also with a game in hand. Should they win that extra fixture, February 12 at Everton, the lead would stretch to nine.
Judging by the ruthless way Liverpool has ground out results this season and the way Arsenal has stumbled through stretches, it’s becoming unreasonable to suggest things could change.
The issue isn’t if Liverpool will drop points, it will. That game in hand in particular against Everton who had their best game of the season under new manager David Moyes last week beating Spurs, won’t be a stroll around Liverpool’s famous Albert Dock.
But the crucial question is if Arsenal can go on a run of winning six or seven in a row to put Liverpool under pressure? Even when Liverpool drops points, will Arsenal get on enough of a roll to make that relevant?
The next few weeks will say a lot. Liverpool’s next run of games hardly look daunting. The Reds host Ipswich, in 18th place, this Saturday before a tricky trip to Bournemouth, unbeaten in 10 games, then the game in hand at Everton before playing relegation-dancers Wolves.
Unless the Reds get careless in that run, that takes them into the end of February, where they will most likely still have a healthy advantage at the top.
Yes, late-February offers steep hurdles with Liverpool going to Manchester City, then hosting Newcastle, a gimme at home against Southampton and then a tough test at Aston Villa.
But the games are whizzing past and all the chasers are dropping unexpected points. For a while it looked like Chelsea were the ones who could be in the conversation come May, then the Blues went winless in five.
Newcastle was starting to raise eyebrows having won six in a row but lost last week and sit a distant 12 points back, having played one game more.
What won’t help those chasing is Liverpool continued to roll in the Champions League this week, beating Lille 2-1 (despite the French side’s tally by Canada striker Jonathan David), making them the only team to win seven out of seven in the revamped format. It gives the Reds automatic qualification to the knockout phase and avoids the two-leg playoffs to get to that phase — those two free matchdays will help tired legs.
Arsenal also avoided the playoff and has qualified for the knockout round and also will get rest.
If there’s one team Liverpool may have their eye on, it’s Manchester City. The Sky Blues are 12 points back and Liverpool still have the game in hand, but as stated, that’s a tough one against Everton. Should the Reds lose that one and lose in their trip to City, all of a sudden it’s nine points.
While that’s still a sizeable lead, if any team is capable of going on a 10-15-game winning streak, it’s City, especially with Erling Haaland having started to fill the net again and the fact they’ve gone out and spent $221 million on fresh players in this transfer window.
Liverpool hasn’t spent a penny and aren’t expected to before the window closes.
It would still be a long shot, but City won 6-0 at Ipswich last week and haven’t lost in five.
Their reaction this weekend will be curious. City blew a 2-1 second-half lead in Paris, eventually losing 4-2 to PSG, and if they don’t win in the last match next week, they will be knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.
This week’s Fubo Match of the Week has City hosting Chelsea. The London club sits in the last Champions League qualification spot while fifth-place City are two points back.
Going into the Christmas period, it looked to be Chelsea that would pile pressure on Liverpool, but prior to them beating woeful Wolves last weekend, they hadn’t won in five matches.
The loser of this game certainly can cross a title challenge off their list and, frankly, if it’s a draw and assuming Liverpool beats Ipswich, then they can both probably forget any heroic roars to overhaul Liverpool by May.
Can City’s rejuvenated league form continue? Or will another Champions League collapse have a hangover?
If Liverpool does continue to stretch its lead, the weekly intrigue may fall to the race for Champions League qualification.
It may be a stretch to dip down to Fulham in 10th, but there’s just seven points between Fulham and Chelsea in that last spot. Sandwiched in between are Manchester City, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Brighton.
That many clubs vying for one spot will have multiple matches with meaning every week. Nottingham Forest shows few signs of slowing down in third spot, though this week’s match against Bournemouth will be a fascinating watch.
Forest hasn’t lost in it past eight, but the avoidance of draws has kept them up at the top. Seven wins and one draw, to Liverpool, show this isn’t a fluke run.
Bournemouth hasn’t lost in 10, going back to November, but they do have four draws in that mix.
This weekend’s slate
Saturday: Bournemouth v. Nottingham Forest; Brighton v. Everton; Liverpool v. Ipswich; Southampton v. Newcastle; Wolves v. Arsenal; Manchester City v. Chelsea.
Sunday: Crystal Palace v. Brentford; Tottenham v. Leicester; Aston Villa v. West Ham; Fulham v. Manchester United.