Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has outlined how goalkeeper could have avoided Crystal Palace’s equalising goal in Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw at the .
First half goals from and gave Arsenal a 2-1 lead. The Gunners looked to be heading for the three points until Jean-Philippe Mateta robbed of the ball and scored a stunning lob over the head of Raya.
That goal came in the 83rd minute and led to a nervy final few minutes of the game. If Arsenal had lost, then Liverpool would have been confirmed as Champions.
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The result does however mean that a point for the Reds against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday will win them the title.
Following the match, Carragher gave his analysis of Raya’s position throughout the period of play on Sky Sports. The former defender highlighting where he went wrong.
“I just wanted to highlight his position here, the goalkeeper. We’re going to see this more and more in terms of goalkeepers who will, not just be good on the ball, but if you look at him, he’s part of the back four, because Kiwior there has almost gone to left-back, Lewis-Skelly moves on, so this is almost a get your extra man in the build-up,” he said.
“I think that’s fine, there’s no real pressure on the ball, he can handle the ball, that for me is fine. But that is where he (Mateta) sees him. He knows he’s not in goal.
“Where I do have a problem with David Raya is eventually when there’s players around the ball, so still now, he’s in the centre-back position. But as soon as Odegaard almost takes up that position there as another centre-back and then Kiwior becomes your left-back, I think you’ve got to get back in goal.”
When asked if it’s because Raya has so much confidence in Odegaard, Carragher says: “Yes, of course it is. Maybe it’s this thing ‘we’re winning 2-1', there was a little bit of a feel of it in the second half maybe Arsenal, not that they’re thinking on other things but a little bit more lax than maybe what it would have been.
“But I think as soon as Saliba has got another player there to play with, the goalkeeper doesn’t need to be there.
“And that is where Mateta has seen him, and it’s just a mess from Saliba. It’s happened a couple of times now, he was brilliant at the Bernabeu.
“He lost his concentration, his focus. But this is fantastic, you see the goalkeeper trying to get back and that is absolutely outstanding.”
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