A Liverpool in dire need of a win took on Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday night.
The questioned Liverpool coach Arne Slot chose the evening in honor to bench both Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah from the eleven. In Salah’s case, he was out of the starting XI for the third game in a row.
– It is never an easy decision, because we know what a fantastic player he is. It’s up to me to pick the team I think we need today, that’s why I made that decision,” Slot told Sky Sports regarding the decision to bench Salah.
Instead, Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz started in “The Reds” offense. Conor Bradley was back in the back line after his injury absence. In Leeds, Swedish Gabriel Gudmundsson gained trust from the start.
Liverpool started brightly and Curtis Jones came close to netting after a quarter of an hour when he hit the crossbar.
– Brilliant by Jones. It was almost perfect. In the last 10 minutes, Liverpool have tightened their grip. They are getting closer to a lead goal, says Sky Sports expert Gary Neville.
Despite having the upper hand, Liverpool then had a hard time getting it done in their closing moments in the first act.
– Liverpool simply didn’t quite get it right in the last third, said the same Neville, just before the break when the score was still 0-0.
Sky Sports journalist Zinny Boswell gave his half-time analysis of the goalless affair.
– This game is there for Liverpool to win. Arne Slot needs to make a change in the attacking trio. Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah sit on the bench. After seeing such a first half, they surely expect to come in soon.
Neither Isak nor Salah came on after the break, but Liverpool would still break the deadlock. After carelessness in the Leeds defence, Hugo Ekitike got free and finished clinically to make it 1-0.
“An early Christmas present for Liverpool,” writes the BBC in its live commentary.
The Frenchman would net again, just under two minutes later, after further sloppiness by the Leeds defense and a quick tap-in from Bradley. The striker was clinical with his finish to make it 2-0.
However, Leeds would be invited back into the game. Ibrahima Konate brought down Wilfred Gnonto on the byline, a good distance from goal and the home team were awarded a penalty kick.
– I think he slides at the wrong angle – so clumsy of Konate, says Gary Neville in Sky Sports.
From eleven metres, Dominic Calvert-Lewin reduced the score to 2-1. Just minutes later, the equalizer also came when Anton Stach, broke into Liverpool’s penalty area and slammed home 2-2.
However, the last page in the book on Leeds-Liverpool was not written.
In the 80th minute, Liverpool countered quickly, with Alexis MacAllister skipping the ball, giving Dominik Szoboszlai a free position. The Hungarian was clinical and made it 3-2 to the away team.
With six minutes left of regular time, Alexander Isak finally had to change the pitch, when he replaced the two-goal scorer Hugo Ekitike.
The fourth official announced a full nine minutes of stoppage time, and in the sixth, Leeds would dramatically equalise. Ao Tanaka stayed in front on a corner and netted 3-3 to the delight of the home crowd.
“Liverpool… you just can’t trust them,” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports, adding:
– Arne Slot can’t believe it. It’s an ongoing mystery. His team just implodes.
In the 98th minute, Alexander Isak was close to a decisive goal for Liverpool, but the Swede’s header missed the post.
The final score was 3-3 at Elland Road, with Liverpool dropping points yet again in what has been a tough Premier League autumn for the Merseyside side.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot gave his view of the match to the BBC.
– There is a feeling of mistrust. I think we played pretty well to very well for large parts of the game and had a 2-0 lead. I don’t think we had any problems and I don’t think we conceded a chance until we gave away a free kick that wasn’t even a chance, he continues:
– It’s not about me. It’s about us, it’s about the fans. The players have worked so hard, and again, we’re conceding goals from set pieces – the 10th or 11th this season. If you let that many in, you can’t end up higher in the table than we are right now.
Slot thinks Liverpool deserved to win the match:
– I don’t think the result reflects what we deserved. We concede goals without the opposing team even having a chance. It’s so hard to play a football match when you don’t even concede chances and still concede goals. We can only look at ourselves because we are the ones doing it. That is the situation we are in right now.
Startelvor:
Liverpool: Alisson – Bradley, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez – Szoboszlai, Jones, Gravenberch – Wirtz, Ekitike, Gakpo.
Leeds: Perri – Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Gudmundsson – Gruev, Ampadu, Stach – Calvert-Levin, Okafor
