Ruthless Liverpool Cut Man City's Lead With 6-0 Triumph
24 February, 2022
Liverpool moved to within three points of Premier League leaders Manchester City with a 6-0 thrashing of Leeds United on Wednesday night.
Premier League
Result: Liverpool 6-0 Leeds United
Date: 23 February 2022
Venue: Anfield
Leeds were sharper and hungrier than their opponents in the early exchanges as Alisson was almost caught dallying on the ball too long by Dan James but luckily Joel Matip was there to bail his goalkeeper out.
The Reds won a penalty in the 11th minute when Robertson's cross struck the arm of Stuart Dallas in the box. Salah stepped up and placed it with precision into the bottom right corner as Illan Meslier went the wrong way.
The lead was doubled on the half-hour mark through an unlikely source in Matip. Allowed to stride forward from defence deep into the Leeds' half, the French centre-back fed Salah on the right and the Egyptian returned the ball to Matip, who showed the finish of a striker by placing the ball calmly into the back of the net. Jurgen Klopp's men appeared to have put themselves out of sight of the Whites with their third just ten minutes before half-time. This time Luke Ayling was the culprit as he pulled Sadio Mane back in the box and once again Salah coolly converted.
Fabinho should have made it four when he latched on to a knockdown from Virgil Van Dijk from a free-kick but placed his effort inches wide of the right post. Salah was in search of a hat-trick and on the hour mark cut inside from the right in trademark fashion before his curling strike was parried away by Meslier.
With 20 minutes to go, Leeds finally threatened as Firpo got down the left and whipped a dangerous low cross into the box for Dallas, who couldn't make amends for his penalty giveaway as his strike went wide of the target.
Soon after, Jones played a one-two with Robertson to burst into the left-inside channel and he lined up a shot at goal from a tight angle, but Meslier made a solid stop with his body.
Mane got his first goal with five minutes to go. Salah released Henderson into space down the right-inside channel and the Liverpool captain sent a precise ball across the face of goal which Mane only needed to turn into an empty net.
The Senegalese superstar then made history in stoppage time as his second goal of the match took him past Didier Drogba as the Premier League's second-highest African scorer ever behind his teammate Salah after he lapped up a rebound from Divock Origi's initial shot.
Van Dijk rubbed even more salt into Leeds' wounds as his headed goal from a Robertson cross with the last action of the match closed out a memorable victory for the Reds with Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa's job surely now under threat.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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