Liverpool entertained Leeds United at Anfield earlier today hoping to kick off their Premier League title defence with a win at home. The Reds began the contest on the front foot and opened the goal-scoring in the fourth minute courtesy of Mohamed Salah’s penalty. However, the Yorkshire outfit found a way back into the game via Jack Harrison’s stunning solo goal in the 12th minute. Virgil Van Dijk put Liverpool ahead once again just eight minutes later with his header from close range, but Patrick Bamford levelled the scoreline after he capitalised on a defensive mistake by Van Dijk at the half-hour mark.
Salah struck again in the 33rd minute with a ferocious strike from inside the box to put the Reds ahead by a 3-2 scoreline at half-time. Both sides sorted things out at the back, so the game was much tighter in the second 45 minutes. In the 66th minute, Mateusz Klich equalised against the run of play with a smart finish from close range.
The Merseyside club kept pushing in search of the winner and finally managed to find the back of the net courtesy of Salah’s penalty in the 88th minute. The contest ended as Liverpool scraped past Leeds with a hard-fought and entertaining 4-3 win at Anfield.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match against Leeds.
GK: Alisson Becker – 5/10
The Brazilian keeper didn’t do much wrong in the game but will be disappointed for shipping in three goals during the game.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 4/10
The English full-back looked way off the pace and was responsible for allowing Harrison to break into the box in the lead-up to Leeds’ first goal. He was fortunate not to have scored an own-goal which summed up how things went for him today.
CB: Joe Gomez – 5/10
The English centre-back made some important clearances but struggled to dominate his penalty area with conviction. However, he did enough to see out the win in the end.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 5/10
The Dutch centre-back made a sloppy mistake to allow Leeds to level the scoreline in the 30th minute. However, he scored one and could have netted a few more during the 90 minutes.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 8/10
The Scottish full-back picked up an assist in the first 45 and was defensively solid throughout the game. It was another industrious performance from Robertson today.
CM: Naby Keita – 5/10
He started the game well and managed to make a couple of decent runs with the ball. However, he ran out of gas after the half-time break.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 6/10
The Liverpool captain was far from convincing, but he did put in a hard-working shift at the centre of the park.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10
A lot of the Dutchman’s good work goes unnoticed, which is a shame. He used his experience well to not panic under pressure and ended up helping his team secure the all-important three points. However, Wijnaldum should have scored at least one goal but was denied by some terrific Leeds defending.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 9.5/10
The Egyptian wing wizard was deadly in front of goal as he successfully converted two penalties and scored another one with a powerful strike to make the difference in the match. It was near perfect display from him today.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 6.5/10
The Brazilian striker linked up play well with his teammates in the opposition half but looked a bit out of energy in the final quarter of the game.
LW: Sadio Mane – 5/10
The Senegalese speedster got some glorious chances to score but was wasteful in front of goal. Mane will be hoping for more productive days out at Anfield.
Substitutes:
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian midfielder strengthened the Liverpool midfield and did enough to see out the three points.
CM: Curtis Jones – 7.5/10
The talented youngster was bright and energetic with the ball after coming on as a second-half substitute.
CB: Joel Matip – N/A
He came on for a few minutes to keep things solid in defence.
