Liverpool battered Leeds 6-1 at Elland Road in the Premier League on Monday night to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
Goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez capped off an excellent night of scintillating attacking dominance from Jurgen Klopp’s men and have cast further doubt on Leeds’ Premier League safety aspirations.
Here’s how the players rated at Elland Road:
Leeds
Illan Meslier – 4 – A torrid night for the Leeds ‘keeper, who helplessly watched as Liverpool ran riot in his box and penetrated his net six times.
Rasmus Kristensen – 4 – Really struggled to deal with the Robertson’s overlapping runs and Jota’s in-field jinking. A night to forget all-round for Leeds’ backline.
Robin Koch – 4 – Proved far too porous and open when Liverpool came charging forward. Koch was all at sea when Klopp’s men showed any intent in the final third.
Pascal Struijk – 3 – In no-man’s land for Jota’s second after he charged forward — and that just about summed up his match in defence, with Gracia’s backline at sixes and sevens after a rather solid start.
Junior Firpo – 3 – To blame for Liverpool’s opener, and perhaps Leeds’ ultimate collapse. His reckless ball-carrying led to Alexander-Arnold’s interception, which ultimately saw the England right-back race through to set up Gakpo — and he struggled to really impose his authority throughout the match from there.
Weston McKennie – 3 – Identical to Firpo, the Juventus loanee was reckless in possession which led to him losing the ball to Jota, who set through Salah for Liverpool’s second.
BetUK Welcome offer: Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
You can get £30 in Free Bets when you bet £10 with Bet UK by CLICKING HERE or on the image below.
New cust only. Deposit & Place a Bet within 7 days, and settle a £10 minimum bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or greater, to be credited with 3x £10 Free Bets: 1 x £10 Horse Racing, 1 x £10 Free Bet Builder and 1 x £10 Football. 7 day expiry. Stake not returned. T&Cs apply. 18+ GambleAware.org.
Marc Roca – 4 – The Spaniard struggled to stamp his influence on the game as Liverpool controlled possession and ripped through them. A difficult game againist Crystal Palace prior to this capitulation and another horror showing from Gracia’s fumbling midfield.
Jack Harrison – 6 – Put his body on the line well and looked to drag Leeds back into the game, but ultimately wasn’t enough as Klopp’s men suppressed any danger that wasn’t their own doing.
Brenden Aaronson – 5 – Neat feet to draw a foul and a yellow card for Fabinho, while he had a second-half effort that nearly evaded Alisson’s attention, but for the most part he was rather quiet and unimaginative.
Luis Sinisterra – 7 – Leeds’ standout player by a country mile and not just because of his goal. It often felt like Sinisterra was trying to do everything by himself. The fleet-footed winger caused Liverpool’s backline problems in the rare moments Leeds ran forward, and he certainly took his goal well.
Rodrigo – 5 – Fluffed his lines early on, and that was about it for the Spaniard, who had a difficult night trying to lead the line by himself, often cutting an isolated figure.
Substitutes:
Crysencio Summerville (for Rodrigo 66′) – 6 – Had a few decent moments when running forward, but ultimately not enough to really trouble Liverpool.
Georginio Rutter (for Aaronson 66′) – 5 – Huffed and puffed but his introduction didn’t really influence proceedings.
Adam Forshaw (for Sinisterra 66′) – 5 – Similar to the above. By the time he came on, Liverpool were totally in control.
Wilfried Gnonto (for Harrison 66′) – 5 – Showed a bit of zest and flair but his introduction felt a little too late.
Liverpool
Alisson – 6 – Commanded his area well and was slick with his distribution, but he wasn’t called into action a great deal as Leeds largely sat back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 9 – Ran the show in the middle of the pitch. The fluid No. 2 was moonlighting as a deep-lying playmaker and performed his duty with merit, pulling the creative strings, linking play and spreading passes with the precision of a Swiss watch.
Trent Alexander-Arnold completed more final ⅓ passes (21) than the entire Leeds United team combined (19) in the first half. ?#LEELIV
— Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) April 17, 2023
Ibrahima Konate – 5 – Gave away a loose pass in the first half that led to a big Leeds chance, before producing another howler just after the restart after getting dispossessed by Sinisterra, who ran through to reduce the deficit. He did recover late on after making a last-ditch sliding block on Harrison to restore some pride.
Virgil van Dijk – 7 – Solid and commanding. This wasn’t a match where Van Dijk’s defensive capabilities were called into question too much, but when probed, the Dutchman responded.
Andrew Robertson – 8 – Surged forward in his typically non-stop fashion, the Scot was consistently flying down the wing and played a key role in Salah’s second as he darted down the flank to tee up Gakpo. Defensively, he contested in a hard-hitting battle with Harrison and largely kept the tricky winger quiet.
Fabinho – 7 – Metronomic as ever, Liverpool controlled possession and hogged the ball, with Fabinho the emblematic player of their dominance. There was nothing jaw-dropping about Fabinho’s work, but that’s the beauty of his passing range. Amid the high-octane tempo of Klopp’s side, Fabinho’s calming presence balances the broth.
Jordan Henderson – 7 – Relentless and tireless as ever, Liverpool’s tenacious skipper put in the hard yards and covered just about every blade of grass. He also left the field with an assist to his name after teeing up Jota for Liverpool’s fifth.
Curtis Jones – 7 – A tad sloppy at stages in the first half with his distribution, but then you got the sense that Jones was there to be Klopp’s ‘inventive’ midfielder. With Fabinho and Henderson providing the legs and link-up play, Jones was there to strut forward and exploit the half space. He showed some excellent touches, while his assist for Jota was a thing of beauty.
Mohamed Salah – 9 – There are few superlatives left to describe Salah, who was once again the driving force behind Liverpool’s scintillating attacking play. Devastating and cut-throat in front of goal, elegant and rhythmic when linking with his team-mates, the Egyptian didn’t put a foot wrong.
?️⚽️⚽️ Diogo Jota
⚽️⚽️ Mohamed Salah
⚽️?️ Cody GakpoLiverpool's front three is cooking against Leeds United. ♨️#LEELIV pic.twitter.com/i44e4Rl9bs
— Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) April 17, 2023
Diogo Jota – 9 – Got the assist for Salah’s first after a wobbly start in which he was fairly careless in possession, but he came alive after that. The sprightly Portuguese was clinical when slipped in by Jones to make it 3-1 to Liverpool, before a precise tackle in his own box instigated a deadly counter for Klopp’s men which ultimately saw Salah claim his brace at the other end of the pitch. He then rounded off a fine showing with a half-volley past Meslier 15 minutes from time.
Cody Gakpo – 8 – The quieter of Liverpool’s attackers, and yet, the Dutchman still got a goal and an assist. He only had 37 touches, which pales in comparison to the rest of Liverpool’s starters, but Klopp certainly won’t mind if he only has two touches and they produce both a goal and an assist. He looked completely at ease in a frontline with Salah and Jota after a difficult start when Leeds sat back.
Substitutes:
Luis Diaz (for Gakpo 81′) – N/A – Came on as a late substitute.
Darwin Nunez (for Salah 81′) – 7 – Came on as a late substitute but tucked home to twist the knife on Leeds.
James Milner (for Henderson 81′) – N/A – Came on as a late substitute.
Roberto Firmino (for Jota 82′) – N/A – Came on as a late substitute.
Thiago (for Fabinho 85′) – N/A – Came on as a late substitute.