Leeds United v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

Leeds United v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective



Another slow, boring, grind against a team that were extremely passive in the first half. Leeds sat back and just looked to hit Calvert-Lewin early with the ball, but he was so far off the pace that he was always too slow to get to anything. That left Liverpool dominating the possession but did very little with it, almost all the shots coming from range. It was another limp performance and looked in dire need of something changing, I was wondering if we would see Salah introduced once more at half-time to give the team and fans a lift.

Instead we got a lucky break and Ekitike buried it. Then another quickly after, before Leeds had time to get themselves settled and you could feel the whole atmosphere was teetering on the brink. Instead of sticking the knife in and finishing off Leeds, Slot instead had the team look to hold on to the lead and sit back, inviting Leeds on to a defence that has been disastrous this season. It was always going to be a problem, the team is so weak, so lacking in aggression when it comes to the challenge that it is easy for opponents to get into dangerous positions. And there is always Konate there to give a helping hand when the ball is harmlessly heading out for a goal kick, by throwing himself into a lunge for the ball and giving away a penalty. Yes, there were other players who let the player get through to that position too easily, but that is no excuse for yet another moronic piece of play.

After the penalty, Leeds were on the front foot and Slot was still trying to sit back and contain them. This despite Liverpool being utterly unable to defend all season long. Then he did it again at 3-2. It is impossible to understand how Slot has become so divorced from reality that he cannot see that he has made such a mess of the team, that they are currently unable to defend at all. His sole solution to things going wrong is to drop Salah, while none of the other underperformers get singled out or dropped, and that has not worked either as performances are still dire. I just do not see any signs of him turning this around at all.

There are a few things bothering me with this team, but 2 in particular stood out - the disorganisation of the press and the lack of movement off the ball. The press is often just Wirtz on his own, sometimes the other forward players will help out, but at the same time the midfield and defence are busy dropping off and leaving a massive gap for the opposition to drop a ball in to beat the press. It was so well organised and aggressive that it led to goals, now it is achieving nothing apart from tiring out Wirtz. The movement is also a huge issue, it was always the Liverpool way to pass and then move. Now a player will pass and then stand still most of the time. It is far too easy to defend against a team which is static.



Leeds United


Leeds surprised me, they just did not seem to have any real desire and were very passive right up until the penalty. To be fair, they were clearly struggling physically after their recent exertions and Calvert-Lewin was like having a man down as he was so far off the pace. I am not sure he won a single header all game. They put in a performance extremely similar to the one West Ham United put in against Liverpool recently, right up until Konate gave the crowd hope. Before then, even though Liverpool were inviting them on, they were not playing like a team with belief and, surprisingly after their last couple of games, confidence. Once the penalty was awarded, the crowd lifted them and they were a different team.

It does make you wonder how different the game would have been if Leeds had gone for it in the beginning, rather than waiting until then, with Liverpool in such poor form and lacking in any kind of confidence. Perhaps this is not as much a case of a point gained against last season's champions and more of a case of two points lost against a struggling team?



Liverpool


Alisson - difficult to judge him, he had pretty much nothing to do until the penalty. He does look a bit off right now, not entirely comfortable on the ball though.


Bradley - when he drives forward and puts an early ball in, as he did for the 3rd goal, he is excellent. However, for most of the match he was just dropping the ball back to a player alongside or behind him, when he got into good positions. Also, defensively he still has a lot to learn and is very raw and rash.


Konate - utterly moronic. There is no point saying any more, I have wasted too much time writing about his failings. If Slot had the balls Klopp had, he would have dropped him for someone right now. Klopp would have just worked with a youngster to bring them on and up to standard, rather than continue to pick a man who is almost actively playing for the opposition this season, if there was no other option in the squad. Surely Slot is capable of drilling a defender in the fine points of defending? Though it does seem he is not so keen on developing the youth, as he quickly dispensed with anyone who was not the finished product, rather than trying to coach and develop them. Which is odd, as I thought one of the main points in bringing him in was supposed to be about his ability to develop players.


van Dijk - spends far too much time blaming Kerkez for his own failings to actually defend these days.


Kerkez - totally wasted, gets forward but never receives a pass until he is on the way back, if at all. His runs do not even have the benefit of moving defenders around any more as everyone knows he will not get the ball from Gakpo. He is certainly not the issue in this team, it is the way he is being used that is causing problems.


Jones - an improvement on Mac Allister's recent performances, but still the extra unnecessary touch when on the ball plagues him. He really needs to release the ball earlier.


Gravenberch - playing far too high up the pitch and leaving the defence too exposed at times. He is much better at taking the ball deep and turning out of trouble to play it forward into the space he has created by drawing players to himself. I have no idea why that has been changed for this season.


Szoboszlai - never stops, never gives up, the club's real captain and heartbeat right now. Scored the third goal and is always there getting up and down the pitch, giving his all.


Wirtz - finally starting to look the part, but he needed help when he was pressing, which mostly he ended up doing on his own before realising no one else was bothering. The lack of organisation of the press is a real worry, it is something that should be worked out on the training pitches, but it looks like they have not worked together at all on it.


Gakpo - I hate to say it, as everyone is on his case at the moment, but he was poor. The biggest culprit for taking too many touches and wasting possession due to it. So many chances to play Kerkez in, but he ignores them and turns inside, then dithers and dallies, instead of putting the ball in early. He looks absolutely bereft of confidence right now, which is probably a large part of him taking all those extra touches, rather than hitting an early shot or cross.


Ekitike - scored two, but it was down to Leeds' mistakes rather than anything good the team did to create for him that he opened the scoring. The service to him in the first half was pretty much non-existent.


Gomez - replaced Bradley in the 68th minute. Had a poor game, lacklustre defensively, far too easily bypassed and picked up a silly needless booking too.


Mac Allister - came on for Wirtz in the 68th minute. His arrival sapped the energy out of the team and allowed Leeds to get forward easily, without Wirtz chasing around, harrying them.


Isak - took the place of Ekitike in the 83rd minute. Once again was utterly anonymous and offered nothing. Still looks incredibly out of shape.


Endo - replaced Gakpo in the 83rd minute. Followed instructions but they were the wrong ones, which ended up seeing him come on to time waste in the corner with still 9 minutes of injury time to play. Then Slot looks bewildered by Leeds being able to equalise.


Salah - did not actually play, but changed the whole focus of the aftermatch of the game. Not keen on a player coming out publicly and speaking out, but I am also not keen on the club sneakily trying to force a club legend out. I am especially not keen on them then employing all their tame journalists to pen hit pieces on Salah following it. It feels like this all stems from the top and the leadership at the club is sadly lacking right now and has allowed a situation to fester and this is the result.

Written by Tris Burke December 09 2025 07:29:46