Liverpool Holds on to Tie Arsenal 1-1

Liverpool notched a veritable win by holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal Tuesday evening in London, England. Since Liverpool played on Arsenal's home turf, Liverpool definitely has the advantage heading into the second leg, in which they will have home field advantage.

Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor began the scoring in the 23rd minute at their home field, Emirates Stadium. The goal came off a corner kick in which the striker rose up high for a header and drilled it into the back of the net; it was Adebayor's second goal of Champions League play. However, in the 26th minute Liverpool's Steven Gerrard placed a ball across the front of the six yard box finding an on-running Dirk Kuyt. Kuyt and an Arsenal defender appeared to hit the ball simultaneously, forcing it into the back of the net.

In the 66th minute, Arsenal's Aliaksandr Hleb went down inside the eighteen yard box when he and a Liverpool defender made contact while vying for the ball, but no penalty kick was awarded by the referee, Pieter Vink.

In the 70th minute, Arsenal almost put the go-ahead goal in the back of the net following a cross, after which the ball ricocheted around the front of the net, but to no avail.

The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 throughout the rest of the match, even though Arsenal beat Liverpool in total shots (13-4), shots on target (5-4), blocked shots (2-0) and corners (6-3). Arsenal also committed four fewer fouls (8-12) and possessed the ball 61% of the game to Liverpool's 39%. Regardless, Liverpool held on to the draw, which equates to a win when playing away in Champions League play.

No cards were distributed during the match by the referee.

The second leg of the quarterfinals between Arsenal and Liverpool is scheduled for April 8th at 7:45pm in Liverpool, England.

More information can be found at: www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/index.html#