A dominant display from the Reds that could’ve seen them win by eight or nine goals if half the chances they’d created – particularly those numerous golden opportunities that fell to the wasteful Sadio Mané – would’ve found the back of the Leeds net. However, Liverpool had to settle for a perfectly respectable 3-0 win, though one that came at a heavy price with a serious-looking ankle injury suffered by the young midfielder Harvey Elliott in what should’ve been his breakthrough season in the Premier League.
The 18-year-old was making his fourth straight start, having shown even at his tender age that he already has the quality to compete and contribute at this level, forming a threatening partnership on the right side with Trent Alexander Arnold and Mo Salah – the latter seeming to particularly enjoy playing with the protegé – when on the 60th minute he was hacked from behind by Pascal Struijk, in a challenge so dangerous that it was outlawed from the game 20 years ago and deservedly earned the Leeds defender a red card.
With the new guidelines this season urging referees to allow more physical play and not call fouls when players go over after minimal contact being interpreted by players as a license to go in harder, it was inevitable, as manager Jurgen Klopp had warned at the start of the season, a warning for which he was ridiculed in the media, that a player would get seriously injured if this more permissive regime was allowed to continue.
Unfortunately, for Liverpool, the manager’s prophecy came to pass and Elliott was carried off with a suspected broken ankle, the severity of which could put him out for the rest of the season. A shame for the player, for Liverpool and for the game, which always is more enjoyable because of technically gifted and unpredictable types like Elliott. Indeed, it was this cleverness on the ball that in the games he’s played this season has seen the youngster become the target of some very bad challenges from defenders looking to intimidate their cocky opponent.
As for the game itself, Liverpool started with Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara – taking the place of Jordan Henderson – anchoring the midfield and they were brilliant, calm, efficient, strong, and Henderson himself when he came on for Elliott managed to get the team to focus – after they’d lost their rhythm following the injury – and he sprayed some fantastic passes that should’ve resulted in Liverpool putting the game to bed with a third goal.
As for the goals that did come, the first one went in after 20 minutes when Joel Matip surged through the centre of the Leeds defence – he did this several times during the game – and found Alexander Arnold on the wing who whipped in a perfect ball for Salah to score his 100th Premier League goal.
The second half began with Liverpool still dominating and with 50 minutes on the clock Fabinho, after a corner and scramble in the box, managed to poke the ball home.
The third goal came in injury time when Mané took his 10th chance, latching on to a pass from Thiago, then swivelling and slamming the ball into the back of the net, much to his relief and silencing any potential critics.
The result puts Liverpool joint top with Manchester United and Chelsea, with 10 points after four games and a goal difference of eight, and next up for the Reds is their opening game of this year’s Champions League competition, a home match against Milan on Wednesday. This will be followed by Crystal Palace coming to Anfield, the South London team having impressed yesterday, beating Spurs 3-0 to earn their first win of the season, after two draws and one defeat.
