Yet, as strange as it sounds, 6-0, while seemingly reflecting a dominant, overwhelming performance from the home side, doesn’t reveal how complicated the game was for the Reds and how, once again, on this run of nine wins in a row, Liverpool’s loose play could easily have found them in trouble and led to a different outcome.
Thus, Leeds got off to a good start and posed a threat to the Liverpool defence – to which Klopp had restored Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander Arnold and Joel Matip to play alongside captain for the night Virgil van Dijk – and, indeed, on six minutes Marcelo Bielsa’s side should’ve had a penalty when Alisson Becker, tardy in clearing the ball with his feet, was suprised by the lurking Dan James.
In his anxiety to get rid, in his follow through, it seemed as if Becker had kicked James in the air.
If the Leeds striker had stayed down after Becker’s challenge, then the foul would have been obvious and a penalty the likely outcome; but James sprung to his feet desperate to get to the loose ball ahead of the covering Matip – the Liverpool defender getting their first and clearing successfully – and it was much harder for the officials, both onfield and VAR, to penalise the Brazilian stopper, deciding that there was more of a natural collision between two players going for the ball rather than something more untoward.
Next, Liverpool went ahead on 15 minutes with a fortuitous penalty.
Robertson’s cross from the left hit the arm of Stuart Dallas, who had instinctively twisted his head and body to block the ball as it came hurtling towards him. By the letter of the law, referee Michael Oliver had no alternative other than to give a penalty, but it was soft, with Dallas’s arm barely outside of the silhouette of his body – which is when a penalty is deemed to have been conceded.
Still, Mo Salah stepped up to confidently score his 18th league goal of the season and put Liverpool ahead.
Leeds’ luck was further out when on 27 minutes Raphinha appeared to have equalised after good play down the Liverpool right by Jack Harrison, who slid the ball across the six-yard area for a tap-in.
However, the Brazilian striker, in his enthusiasm to get himself in position to score, had lost concentration and needlessly strayed offside.
Three minutes later, Matip, having characteristically rampaged through the opposition lines, exchanged passes with Salah, before cleverly chipping over the advancing Illan Meslier to make it 2-0 to the Reds.
Another soft penalty on 33 minutes, this time after Sadio Mané, brilliantly put through on goal by Salah, losing control of the ball, cut across the chasing Luke Ayling, who inevitably – albeit barely – clipped the Liverpool forward, allowing the Egyptian king to make it three from the spot.
In the second half, Liverpool looked to conserve energy and take the sting out of any potential for a Leeds comeback.
Thus, it wasn’t until the 80th minute that the Reds added to the score, when substitute Jordan Henderson latched on to a poor clearance from Meslier, the Liverpool stalwart then running into the Leeds box, where he was brilliantly found with a reverse pass by the outstanding Salah, before crossing precisely for Mané to stroke the ball into the net.
Mané added a fifth in the 90th minute after Divock Origi, who’d come on for Luis Diaz, had his effort saved by Meslier, the ball kindly ricocheting to the Senegalese, who couldn’t miss from five yards out.
The rout was completed with the last play of the game after Robertson’s corner was met by the unmarked van Dijk with a thumping header that Melier had no chance of stopping.
In this way, Liverpool not only closed the gap to Man City to three points – with the two title contenders set to meet at the Etihad on 9 April – but also overtook Pep Guardiola’s side on goal difference. The Reds are +50 while City are +46.
Next up for Liverpool is a much-anticipated Carabao Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Reds have yet to win a domestic cup competition under Jurgen Klopp and despite struggling against Chelsea in both league games this season – drawing 1-1 at Anfield at 2-2 at Stamford Bridge – Thomas Tuchel’s side have shown indifferent form of late, which makes Liverpool slight favourites going into the game.
