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Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal: Reds Take First Leap Toward 2025/26 Premier League Title
Heading into the 2025/26 Premier League season, the bookies made Liverpool the overwhelming favorites to win a second straight Premier League title – and third since 2020. However, the opening couple of weeks saw the Reds drift somewhat, while Arsenal, thanks to their victories against Manchester United and Leeds, shortened significantly.
Well, after Liverpool’s hosting of Arsenal on matchday three of the new season, it’s the Reds who are the firm favorites once again. A Gunners side heavily depleted due to injuries to Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard headed to Anfield in a bid to be defensively solid and try to escape with a draw. They succeeded in their attempt defensively, but they were undone by a rocket of a Dominik Szoboszlai’s thunderous 30-yard freekick that handed the hosts a narrow 1-0 victory.
The result has already had sweeping effects on online betting sites. Before the game got underway, both teams were priced as 7/4 joint favorites, with the use of an expected value betting calculator indicating that both teams had a 36.36% chance of winning the title this season. However, now the Reds have been shortened to 11/10 outright favorites, with their chances skyrocketing to 47.62%. A lot of folks will be using betting calculators as the matches progress to see how the odds are shifting.
Szoboszlai Stunner Seals All Three Points
It’s been a huge week for both Liverpool and their talismanic midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai. The Hungarian was shifted over to the right back for their Monday (August 25th) night trip to face Newcastle United, a contest laced in bad blood due to the Alexander Isak saga. The former RB Leipzig man played a starring role, creating 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha’s 100th-minute winner with a brilliant dummy.
For the heavyweight clash at Anfield against Arsenal, Szoboszlai started at right back again, and once more, he shone. The clash between last season’s top two was a war of attrition, with neither side crafting any real, clear-cut opportunities. From the first whistle, it looked as though it would take something special to separate the two sides. And boy, did Liverpool find it.
With the game ticking into the 83rd minute, Liverpool were awarded a free kick around 30 yards out in a position that looked too central to really work with. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya had played well up until this point, and it would take something spectacular to beat the Spaniard from such a distance. What Szoboszlai provided was out of this world.
The Hungarian ran up and hammered the ball up and over the Arsenal wall, with it rattling the left-hand post before nestling in the net behind Raya in front of the Kop end. Anfield erupted, and the visiting Gunners were unable to summon up the latest of late equalizers. As a result, the Reds now find themselves as the outright Premier League leaders, with three wins from three making them the team to beat even at this early stage.
Manchester City’s Woes Continue
Before last season, it was Manchester City who were the Premier League’s dominant force. The Blues romped to four straight titles before surrendering their crown to Liverpool with a whimper last season, and many considered them a live underdog in the title race. However, their start to the new season has been anything but impressive.
A 4-0 opening day win at Wolves looked to prove their proponents right, but a 2-0 home loss to Spurs extinguished those hopes pretty quickly. On matchday three, they headed to Brighton, and everything was going according to plan when Erling Haaland handed the visitors a first half lead on the South Coast.
In the second half, Pep Guardiola’s side looked comfortable for 15 minutes, but a slew of changes from Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler on the hour mark shifted the dynamic entirely. The Seagulls earned a penalty kick in the 68th minute, and substitute James Milner coolly slotted home to become the Premier League’s second-oldest goalscorer ever.
As the game progressed, the hosts were the only team that looked like finding a winner, bombing forward time and again, and the Blues simply had no answer. In the 89th minute, Brighton were duly rewarded for their endeavor, with German midfielder rounding City goalkeeper James Trafford to net a brilliant winner.
The 2-1 result means that matchday three could have been the first truly pivotal day in the 2025/26 title race. Liverpool’s victory over Arsenal has reinforced their championship-winning credentials, enforcing their heavyweight status over their biggest rivals, while the third horse in the race, Manchester City, were swept aside to fall even further out of contention.
Can Liverpool Continue Their Rich Vein of Form?
Last season, Liverpool’s early season form saw them build up an unassailable lead. The Reds lost just once in their first 30 games in 2024/25, building up a double-digit lead in the title race that Arsenal never looked like overturning. Now, they have started in blistering fashion once more, and their rivals must ensure they keep pace to ensure that Arne Slot’s side doesn’t immediately take command just as they did a year ago.
