First home defeat since March 2021: the scores of the Liverpool pros after the 2-1 loss to Leeds
Our assessment of Liverpool’s pros in the 2-1 draw with Leeds United.
Liverpool suffered their first Premier League home defeat since March 2021 at Anfield on Saturday night, while Leeds United exited the relegation zone with a deserved 2-1 win.
The early stages of the game were marked by mistakes. leeds weathered a glaring breakdown in communication between captain Liam Cooper and goalkeeper Illan Meslier before Liverpool were less fortunate.
Joe Gomez played a bad pass towards Alisson. Like his coach Jurgen Klopp before kick-off, the Liverpool goalkeeper lost his footing and saw Rodrigo happily accept the gift of an open goal.
Mohammed Salah needed just ten minutes to equalize for Liverpool. With Liverpool playing in a tight diamond formation, a lot of the creative burden fell on the full-backs. Andy Robertson picked up a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross at the back post and deflected the ball past Fabinho to Salah’s feet.
Despite a poor 18th place at kick-off, Klopp warned that Leeds “have given everyone big problems” this season. Liverpool was no exception.
The visitors charged forward at will, resorting to coordinated high pressing and bolstering this quartet with more white shirts when they gained possession. Brenden Aaronson’s close-range volley rattled the bar as Alisson made a brilliant save to ward off a Jack Harrison chance.
On Leeds’ last away trip, fans who had traveled defiantly chanted the name of their former manager Marcelo Bielsa as the soundtrack to a sluggish defeat at Leicester. Nine days later, Yorkshire fans drowned out a nervous Anfield for long stretches.
However, to confuse the hosts, Leeds left the back door open and a thrilling battle ensued from start to finish.
The frantic pace of the first half slowed after the break, but the push-and-push rhythm kept up and both sides created a number of chances. Meslier came out on top in two one-on-ones with Darwin Nunez just before the break. The young French number one threw away Liverpool from every angle, saving Roberto Firmino’s header from close range in a number of situations.
Just as the game was about to end in a draw, Crysencio Summerville delivered the killing blow that may have saved his coach. Wilfried Gnonto came off the bench and shot the ball into the penalty area. His substitute Patrick Bamford sneaked in front of the sleepy duo of Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara and put the ball in front of Summerville in the 89.
1. Liverpool pros’ grades
TW: Alisson – Grade: 6/10 – Played his role in the unfortunate opening goal, but recovered quickly and held the decisive balls in the usual manner.
RV: Trent Alexander-Arnold – Grade: 6/10 – Rediscovered the surgical precision of his passing game, although the frequency of his passes decreased as the game progressed.
IV: Joe Gomez – Grade: 5/10 – Displayed a commanding tackle seconds before putting the ball on Rodrigo for the opener – a snapshot of a game of extremes.
IV: Virgil van Dijk – Grade: 5/10 – Suffered his first Premier League defeat at Anfield since joining Liverpool when he dozed off in the closing stages.
LV: Andy Robertson – Grade: 7/10 – Had freedom on the left to let off steam on the touchline.
CM: Harvey Elliott – Grade: 4/10 – Couldn’t have any lasting impact on the game and was substituted after an hour.
CM: Fabinho – Grade: 2/10 – A shadow of his former self, watching as an uninvolved spectator as Leeds rushed forward.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – Grade: 5/10 – Garnished his performance with some nice moves, but was unpredictable in his adventurous attempts at passes.
ZOOM: Roberto Firmino – Grade: 7/10 – Hovered menacingly between the lines and stitched up Liverpool’s game in the last third with a series of flicks and feints.
ST: Mohamed Salah – Grade: 6/10 – Reacted strongly and pushed the equalizer over the line, but wasn’t at his best for much of the game.
ST: Darwin Nunez – Grade: 5/10 – Was an option when charging into the wide space behind opponents, but lacked composure in front of goal.
Substitute: Curtis Jones (60th for Elliott) – Grade: 7/10 – Adds momentum and urgency to Liverpool’s midfield.
Substitute: Jordan Henderson (60th for Fabinho) – grade: 5/10
Substitute: James Milner (79th for Alexander-Arnold) – no grade
Coach: Jurgen Klopp – Grade: 4/10 – Seemed a bit shocked at the start of his team, wanted to bark instructions, but no words came out. He found his voice again, brought in Jones and changed the breadth of Liverpool’s attack after the break, but to little lasting effect.
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as First home defeat since March 2021: the scores of the Liverpool pros after the 2-1 loss to Leeds released.
