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Premier League Match Report & Player Ratings | Liverpool embarrass Leeds United in historic 6-1 Elland Road thrashing

A pair of braces from Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota highlight a night to forget in Yorkshire as Liverpool blitz a faltering Leeds United outfit who remain in the relegation conversation

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Pre-Match Social Media Commentary

Liverpool continued their penchant for massive results across what has been a frustrating 2022-23 Premier League season by their standards after the Reds ruthlessly put relegation-candidates Leeds United to the sword in a 6-1 thrashing at Elland Road this evening.

Though the England giants are likely to not secure Champions League football come the end of the season as they remain eighth in the table, perhaps the result tonight against a hapless Leeds outfit was proof that an impending squad rebuild on Merseyside will not need to be as drastic as many have claimed in previous moments across the season.

Leeds found the first real chance of the match just seven minutes after kick-off when Rodrigo was left free and clear in the box after the Whites earned a freekick down the left-hand channel, but the Spanish striker could only tamely head his effort at Alisson who comfortably collected.

Though the home side looked the more likely to bag the first goal after Liverpool continued to labor in the attacking third, Jürgen Klopp’s Reds finally broke the deadlock in the 35th minute through January signing Cody Gakpo who only had to tap in from inside two yards after Mohamed Salah found the overlapping run from Trent Alexander-Arnold who only had to play across the face of goal to the Dutch international.

Questions will once again surround VAR after Alexander-Arnold looked to clearly commit a handball in the build-up, but no call was made and the goal was allowed to stand.

The Reds’ rapid counter-attack doubled their advantage just three minutes later after Weston McKennie was dispossessed in the middle third of the pitch by Diogo Jota, who sprang forward into space before putting Salah into enough space in the right-half space to slot home past Illan Meslier.

It would not last long, however, after Liverpool restored their two-goal advantage in the 52nd minute when Jota was picked out by Curtis Jones with a fantastic diagonal through ball for the former Wolves man to dispatch his bending effort just inside the far post, with Leeds picked apart far too easily once again.

Things went from bad to worse for Leeds when Liverpool bagged a fourth in the 64th minute after the Reds broke cleanly from the defensive third through combination play between Robertson and Jota before the Scottish defender found Gakpo who laid off to Salah to bend a first-time strike into the back of the net to secure all three points Klopp’s troops.

For the second consecutive match at Elland Road Leeds would surrender five on the night, with Jota popping up once again nine minutes after Salah’s strike to make it 5-1 on the night. The Portuguese winger was just outside the area when he beat Meslier with a low drive after being unmarked eighteen yards out and in plenty of space for Jordan Henderson to turn provider.

Despite Klopp shuffling his pack with four changes to see out the result, substitute Darwin Núñez found the back of the net just one minute before added time thanks to another TAA assist (his second on the night) to put Pool 6-1 up across another humiliating Leeds performance this season. It was the first time that Leeds have ever lost a Premier League match at home by five goals or more, and seemingly offered a possible death knell during a season that may end in yet another relegation heartbreak.

Come full-time, few Leeds supporters will feel confident that the club can stave off the drop-down to the Championship after the Yorkshire side officially boats the worst defensive record in the Premier League. As for Liverpool, the performance is a reminder to the rest of the top clubs in England just what they are truly capable of when they’re in the mood, and they still could have something to say in the table before the end of the current 2022-23 campaign.

Key Stats & Performers

Leeds United Player Ratings

  • GK: Illan Meslier – 4
  • RB: Rasmus Kristensen – 5.5
  • RCB: Robin Koch – 5.5
  • LCB: Pascal Struijk – 6
  • LB: Junior Firpo – 5
  • RCM: Weston McKennie – 5.5
  • LCM: Marc Roca – 6
  • CAM: Brenden Aaronson – 6.5
  • RW: Jack Harrison – 6.5
  • LW: Luis Sinisterra – 7
  • CF: Rodrigo – 6
  • Sub: Georginio Rutter – 6
  • Sub: Crysencio Summerville – 6.5
  • Sub: Adam Forshaw – 6
  • Sub: Wilfried Gnonto – 6

Liverpool Player Ratings

  • GK: Alisson – 6.5
  • RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8.5
  • RCB: Ibrahima Konaté – 6.5
  • LCB: Virgil van Dijk – 7.5
  • LB: Andrew Robertson – 7.5
  • DM: Fabinho – 7
  • RCM: Jordan Henderson – 7.5
  • LCM: Curtis Jones – 8
  • RW: Mohamed Salah – 9
  • LW: Diogo Jota – 9
  • CF: Cody Gakpo – 8.5
  • Sub: Darwin Núñez – 7
  • Sub: Luis Díaz – 6
  • Sub: James Milner – 6
  • Sub: Roberto Firmino – 6
  • Sub: Thiago – 6

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Andrew Thompson

US-based Football writer. German football guru with a wealth of experience in youth development and analysis. Data aficionado. Happily championing the notion that Americans have a knowledgeable voice in the beautiful game.

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