Leeds 1-6 Liverpool Player Ratings
Liverpool cruised to an emphatic 6-1 win at Leeds, with Mohamed Salah in brilliant goalscoring form and Diogo Jota ending a years-long losing streak.
Leeds 1-6 Liverpool
Premier League (30), Elland Road
April 17, 2023
Goals: Gakpo 35′, Salah 39′ & 64′, Jota 52′ & 73′, Nunez 89′; Sinister 47′
Alisson (out of 10) – 7th
Alisson has been called up so many times this season which saved Liverpool’s blush, but he had the luxury of being a spectator for much of the game.
The Brazilian barely had anything to do in the first half and after the break he couldn’t do much against Luis Sinisterra’s goal.
Fittingly, his teammates were left out for not getting close enough to Brenden Aaronson when he hit the bar – that’s about as lively as he got!
Trent Alexander Arnold – 8th
Alexander-Arnold has once again been deployed more in a traveling midfield role (reverse full-back say the hipsters), with Jurgen Klopp fine-tuning his position lately.
The 24-year-old endured an impressive night at Elland Road, scoring the first goal for Cody Gakpo and sixth for Darwin Nunez and generally showing his quality on the ball. A nice pass from behind to Mohamed Salah summed up just how outrageous passer Trent is.
Ibrahim Konaat – 6
Konate was sensational in the second half against Arsenal last time out, and while this was less of a test for him, he was solid overall.
A little lapse in concentration saw him hand a goal to Sinisterra, going down a goal, but otherwise he was a physically dominant figure.
One day he will be world class. He just needs to improve his concentration. Virgil van Dijk – 7th
Like Konate, Van Dijk will have much bigger tests but he can’t really be blamed and is proving particularly dominant in the air.
The Dutchman’s long-haul passport hasn’t always been at its best, but it was proof that Liverpool will have to see week in and week out from now.
Andy Robertson- 8
Robertson has been Liverpool’s least guilty defender this season, although it was certainly not a vintage campaign on his part.
Here, however, he was very good, playing deep enough to eventually offset Trent, who played in midfield and performed his defensive duties well.
Did a great job for Salah’s second of the night, rushing forward and returning the ball to Cody Gakpo. Fabinho-7
We are still a long way from yesterday’s Fabinho, but luckily his form has improved in recent weeks.
He has done well in midfield for the Reds, although he still looks a meter slower than before, and has used the ball intelligently.
Jordan Henderson-7
Henderson has been a shadow of his former self so many times this season, but this was a positive night for him.
Sure, he was too limited on the ball at times and went for the easy option, but he covered Trent well down the right and made some effective overlap runs.
An excellent pass from Jota saw his colleague try wide.
Curtis Jones-7
Jones was criticized for not influencing games enough, but he was better against Leeds.
The midfielder lost the ball cheaply a few times but deserves credit for winning the ball back and he produced a fine pass for Jota’s opener.
Nothing special, but maybe just doing the job Klopp asked him to do.
Mohamed Salah – 9 (Man of the Match)
Salah is a motivated figure and his missed penalty last weekend will have hurt, so a response was expected from him at Elland Road.
It was therefore no surprise that he buried two reckless goals to lose sight of Liverpool – his eighth and ninth goals in six Premier League games against Leeds. He threatened the Leeds defense all night – now that’s 26 hits for the season, which isn’t bad for a player having a ‘bad’ season!
Cody Gakpo-8
Gakpo has been quiet lately, having failed to start following up his brace at home to Manchester United, but he improved a lot on Monday night.
The Dutchman scored the opening goal of the game – his first in five league games – and was subtle in his use of the ball, similar to Roberto Firmino.
He also provided an assist for Salah and showed good composure in a tight space.
Diogo Iota – 8
What do they say about London buses?
Jota kept his place despite a poor run of form lately, and although his first half hour was awful and he was constantly losing possession of him, he has improved immensely since then. The Liverpool No.20 provided the assist for Salah’s opener and then finally ended his losing streak by scoring twice in a row.
Confidence is a wild thing.
Substitute
Luis Diaz (for Gakpo, 81′) – n/a
Seeing him back on the pitch is almost as good as the 6-1 win itself!
Darwin Nunez (for Salah, 81′) – n/a
Expertly took aim after being dispatched cleanly.
James Milner (for Henderson, ’81) – n/a
Almost fired a cross into the top corner against his former club.
Roberto Firmino (for iota, 81′) – n/a
A nice turn of events, but the game was over when he arrived. Thiago (for Fabinho, 85′) – n/a
Tried temporary magic, mixed results!
Unused Subs: Kelleher, Matip, Tsimikas, Elliott
Jürgen Klopp – 9th
After a spirited fightback at home to Arsenal, it was time for the Reds to kick on against Leeds, with Klopp looking to avoid six games without a win.
They did so emphatically, proving to be ruthless in scoring two quickfire goals before half-time and then going up another gear after the break.
Using Trent in this new role ultimately paid off and the decision to start Jota did, too, so it was a great evening for the manager.
He really needed this and it keeps Liverpool’s (extremely) slim hopes of finishing in the top four alive.
A fully fit squad, confidence returning for some key players, now to put a run together in this final eight games of the season.
