Liverpool ran riot against Leeds United side that were outclassed by the firepower at the hands of Jürgen Klopp. It was a convincing victory even if many would argue that Leeds deserved a penalty with the kick that Daniel James got from Alisson. The former Manchester United man was fast enough to get to the ball and the back heel of Alisson knocked the ball away with his follow-through hitting James inside the box. To be honest, in the Premier League, any follow-through challenge like that outside the box always get a free-kick and a yellow card but it's surprising how the referee and the VAR didn't deem that to be a penalty even if a yellow card would have been harsh on Alisson.
Liverpool rallied after seeing the threat that Leeds United could pose to their title challenge. It has been a long road for Liverpool to try and cut Pep Guardiola's lead to 3 points and they won't allow anyone to mess up with that opportunity, particularly Leeds United.
Liverpool grew into the game and this victory marked their 9th win in a row. They now have a better goal difference than Manchester City even though they are just 3 points behind them. As it stands, Manchester City are not running away with the title as many predicted and it took Tottenham to open up that gap. Liverpool would be proud of themselves to have cut the gap to 3 points and now the pressure is on Manchester City not to drop any point else Liverpool would overtake them.
Mane scored twice and Salah scored twice. Salah chased the entirety of that match for his 5th hat-trick for Liverpool but it wasn't meant to be. Matip and Van Dijk rounded off the 6-0 comprehensive beating of Leeds United. It is not working quite well for Leeds as they would have hoped this season after their brilliant first season in the Premier League. They play without fear even when in defeat and maybe that would be enough for them to stay in the lead since they have that character and they possess the talent too.
If they want to stay in the league, they have to patch up their porous defence line. They have an amazing attack and maybe they have focused too much on that which leaves them porous at the back. Leeds United possess one of the most porous defence in the league having conceded more goals this season than they did for the entirety of last season. They have conceded 2 more goals at this stage right now than they did for the entire season last year and the season isn't over right now.
They have suffered 7 defeats in 10 games too which doesn't put the future of Marcos Bielsa in a good light. The board would be thinking of what to do because it would be too late to ask anyone to step in if they ever had to relieve him of his duties especially if they get bundled in the relegation fight.
Leeds are fighting to stay in the league and that's the only thing that should occupy their minds right now. They have the whole of summer to make changes that they desire but right now, they don't need anything to disrupt them so they won't slip back down. They have tougher fixtures ahead and they need to start getting points if they want to stay in the league.
Liverpool deserves the attention for this match and not the form of Leeds. It took consistent effort from Liverpool to cut the gap to 3 points after it looked insurmountable just a few weeks back. It was a wonderful fight they put up and it's interesting to see how the season would be because they still have to play Manchester City on April 2nd. It would be a title decider if both teams keep winning their games till then.
The title race is back on for Liverpool and it's a two-horse race between them and Manchester City.
Cheers.
Gingered Up! ❣️
