(Football news) Liverpool moved three points behind league leaders and reigning champions Manchester City after defeating Leeds United 6-0 at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp made five changes to the team that defeated Norwich City last weekend with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson returning to full back positions and a midfield trio that consisted of Fabinho, Thiago, and Curtis Jones. As for Leeds, Marcelo Bielsa made two changes to the side that lost to Manchester United as Raphinha returned to the starting lineup while Junior Firpo replaced Robin Koch who suffered a concussion and Diego Llorente was dropped.
The opening goal came in the 15th minute when Fabinho dispossessed the ball in midfield and passed it to Luis Diaz who passed it to Andy Robertson. The left back’s cross was blocked by Stuart Dallas with his hand and referee Michael Oliver awarded the hosts a penalty. Mohamed Salah stepped up and sent Illan Meslier the wrong way to score the first out of six goals in the match. 15 minutes later, Joel Matip got the ball close to the halfway line and found Salah on the right flank who gave a precise pass back to Matip and the 30 year old found the back of the net.
As the first half went on, Liverpool upped the ante with Mohamed Salah providing another precise pass to Sadio Mane who looked to go past Meslier but was fouled by Luke Ayling in the process. Salah stepped up to take the penalty yet again and scored his second and Liverpool’s third goal of the night in the 35th minute. The Reds could have easily scored the fourth goal before the break as Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped in a freekick but Fabinho failed to hit the target.
After the break, Liverpool continued to show their rampant form but Leeds shifted the pace of the match to exert some control over the proceedings. Mohamed Salah missed an opportunity to get his hat-trick after failing to find the target from Curtis Jones’ pass. 10 minutes from time, Sadio Mane opened his account and scored Liverpool’s fourth goal when Meslier’s poor clearance reached Jordan Henderson who provided the assist for the Senegalese international who fired home in the 80th minute.
Substitute Divock Origi helped create the fifth goal of the match after colliding with Meslier and Mane took advantage of the loose ball to score his second and Liverpool’s fifth goal of the night. Virgil van Dijk scored the sixth and final goal for the hosts after heading the ball into the back of the net from Andy Robertson’s cross after the Dutch defender was left unmarked in the 93rd minute.
Speaking after the match, Jurgen Klopp said “In the end, it went pretty smoothly. It was really hard work, because they make it hard work. We had to find a bit during the game and calm our possession. It's really tricky – if you play against a man-marking side, you tend to feel pressure when there is none. The game becomes hectic, and Leeds are really good when the game is hectic.
"There might be some people out there that think penalties should not count [for players]. To be honest, when you have a penalty, you want the right person on the spot to put it away – that's what Mo did. On top of that, he played a really, really good game. Sadio's game was one of his best, the way he interpreted the role – playing in the centre – and how he got away from opponents and opened gaps."
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