Mo Salah and Sadio Mane each scored twice as Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool declared this season’s Premier League title race well and truly alive and well.
The game saw Salah move onto 27 goals and 10 assists for his team, well before the end of February and despite having missed a month on international duty.
More relevantly, to the wider title picture, after Liverpool finally used up their game in hand over leaders Manchester City, Klopp’s men were left in a position that was almost unfathomable when they trailed City by 14 points, although then with two games in hand, on January 15.
Now, if City lose at Everton on Saturday, Liverpool will go into their next league game, against West Ham a week on Saturday, knowing victory will lift them to the top of the table.
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That was thanks to an electrifying first half from Klopp’s men, who should have been leading by far more than the three goals they scored.
Indeed, having equalled their worst-ever defeat in a 7-0 battering at Manchester City in December, Leeds looked well capable of bettering – or, rather, worsening – that mark at Anfield.
Salah struck from his first penalty on 14 minutes, awarded after Andy Robertson’s cross struck the arm of Stuart Dallas and VAR agreed with Michael Oliver’s penalty award.
On the half hour, Joel Matip was the unexpected hero, exchanging passes with Salah, advancing and burying the ball with the sort of finish of which his team mate would have been proud.
And five minutes later, Liverpool were slightly fortunate that Oliver judged that Luke Ayling tripped Sadio Mane from behind as he raced through.
Salah, of course, needed no second invitation with a devastating finish past Illan Meslier.
It was brutally brilliant and efficient but might – probably should – have been better.
The impressive newcomer Luis Diaz destroyed Ayling down the Leeds right and his shot was well saved by Meslier who half sat on the ball to prevent its passing.
And in the dying embers of the first half, there were two more glorious chances that should have led to Liverpool goals. Fabinho missed a routine chance from six yards, following a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick.
And Alexander-Arnold then played Salah clean through on goal yet again only for the striker’s chip to beat Meslier but be cleared off the line by Junior Firpo.
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Liverpool showed no mercy after the restart, Mane and Salah forcing Meslier into early saves and then the Egyptian making a rare error with a poor shot high over the goal from 15 yards.
Finally, it was left to Mane to continue the rout, first after 80 minutes, when he was picked out by the cross of substitute Jordan Henderson and finish emphatically from eight yards.
In the last minute of normal time, he was on hand to force the ball over the line after substitute Divock Origi’s effort was only half-saved by Meslier.
And then, with the last touch of the game, Virgil van Dijk made it three goals in the final ten minutes when he powered in an Andy Robertson corner.
Player ratings
Liverpool
- Alisson – 6
- Alexander-Arnold – 7
- Matip – 7
- Van Dijk – 7
- Robertson – 7
- Thiago – 8
- Fabinho – 6
- Jones – 7
- Salah – 9
- Mane – 7
- Diaz – 7
Substitutes:
- Henderson – 7
- Milner – 6
- Origi – 6
Leeds
- Meslier – 7
- Dallas – 4
- Ayling – 4
- Struijk – 6
- Firpo – 5
- Forshaw – 6
- Raphinha – 6
- Kilch – 6
- Rodrigo – 5
- Harrison – 6
- James – 5
Substitutes:
- Shackleton – 5
- Roberts – 5
- Gelhardt – 6
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/CUd8Yku
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