Liverpool tossed aside 2-0 and 3-2 leads to Leeds on Saturday at Elland Road in a result that summed up both teams’ weeks in the Premier League.
Hugo Ekitike’s early second-half brace was completely undone and Liverpool reclaimed the lead only to see it equalized in stoppage time by Leeds’ Ao Tanaka in a whiplash-inducing half.
MORE — Arne Slot responds to Liverpool’s draw at Leeds
The reigning champion Reds started the week with a win at 10-man West Ham but had to rally to draw Sunderland via an own goal on Wednesday and drew another newly-promoted side today.
Leeds may be in a relegation campaign but you’ll forgive outsiders for not knowing it. Leeds gave Man City all it could handle in a 3-2 loss at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday but beat Chelsea on Wednesday at Elland Road before rallying twice in the same venue against the champs on Saturday.
WATCH — Leeds v Liverpool full match replay
Liverpool fail to take advantage of an Arsenal loss and Chelsea draw. They sit eighth with 23 points, two points off the top four and 10 back of leaders Arsenal.
Leeds’ fourth point of the week puts them in 16th place, three points clear of 18th-place West Ham and five ahead of 19th-place Burnley.
Defiant Leeds set stage for second half
Daniel Farke’s men are not scared of anyone, and to be fair to them they were missing more key players than Liverpool as Lukas Nmecha and Sean Longstaff were on the shelf along with Daniel James. The visitors again played unsure once adversity hit, slipping to concede a second goal after the controversial penalty conceded by Ibrahima Konate. Leeds just kept plugging away, and showed real character in finding an equalizer for the second time once Liverpool took back the lead. It’s a classic “whole greater than sum of parts” scenario for Farke, who now has to figure out how to get these sorts of performances on a more consistent basis. They’ll see Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Sunderland before a quick rematch at Liverpool on New Year’s Day.
What’s next?
Liverpool return to the UEFA Champions League and travel to Italy for a match at Inter Milan on Tuesday. Then it’s a visit from Brighton in the Premier League at 10am ET Saturday.
Leeds get a full week between games, next visiting Leeds at 11:30am on Sunday, December 14.
Leeds vs Liverpool final score: 3-3
Hugo Ekitike 48', 50', Dominic Calvert-Lewin pen 73', Anton Stach 76', Dominik Szoboszlai 80', Ao Tanaka 90+6'
Leeds vs Liverpool, as it happened live
Ao Tanaka goal — Leeds 3-3 Liverpool
Fantastic.
Gnonto wins a corner and the service bounds out to Ao Tanaka at the back post.
He makes no mistake from his acute angle, sending a rocket into the back of the goal.
VAR will have a look for offside or a handball but surely not.
Liverpool subs
Wataru Endo takes off Cody Gakpo, while Alexander Isak replaces two-goal man Ekitike in the 84th minute.
Dominik Szoboszlai goal — Leeds 2-3 Liverpool
What a half of football.
Szoboszlai gets Ryan Gravenberch’s pass after a dummy from Alexis Mac Allister and beats Perri to his right.
Lucas Perri with incredible save
We’ve seen this before, Virgil van Dijk arrives to a header in order to put the Reds in front but Lucas Perri flies to his right and somehow paws it away from the line!
Anton Stach goal — Leeds 2-2 Liverpool
It’s happened! Elland Road is boiling over with noise after Brenden Aaronson danced down the left and fed Anton Stach.
Leeds’ star midfielder still had work to do, and he sure did it with a cut inside and lashed near-post finish.
What has happened to the mentality monsters of Liverpool?
Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty goal — Leeds 1-2 Liverpool
It’s a powerful penalty and Elland Road erupts with hope.
Leeds penalty shout
Ibrahima Konate slides wildly as Wilfried Gnonto races toward the end line.
It looked like Gnonto dove and Anthony Taylor did not see a penalty, but VAR is telling the ref to come to the monitor...
Liverpool subs
Alexis Mac Allister and Joe Gomez take the places of Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley in the 68th minute.
Liverpool counter with fire, nearly make it three
Ekitike starts the play and Szoboszlai’s involved as the ball makes its way to Cody Gakpo, whose shot is denied its hopes for far side netting by Perri.
Leeds subs
USMNT man Brenden Aaronson will join Ao Tanaka and Wilfried Gnonto in trying to bring Leeds back into this game from the 65th minute onward.
Off go Ilia Gruev, Jaka Bikol, and Noah Okafor. Yes, that’s pretty aggressive!
Hugo Ekitike goal — Leeds 0-2 Liverpool
The world’s most expensive transfer may want to get used to the bench, because Hugo Ekitike looks electric.
Conor Bradley’s cross is into the corridor of uncertainty and Ekitike lunges to get the ball through the slide of Perri.
VAR checks a tight offside,
Hugo Ekitike goal — Leeds 0-1 Liverpool
Alert, alert — Liverpool have a goal from the center forward position.
Joe Rodon’s square pass is angled toward Leeds’ box and Hugo Ekitike beats Ethan Ampadu to the ball.
The Frenchman measures his shot and beats Lucas Perri for 1-0 in the 49th minute.
Halftime — Leeds 0-0 Liverpool
Conor Bradley goes into the book with a yellow deep in first-half stoppage — a hard tackle that wasn’t necessary. even if the Northern Ireland player caught the ball.
The Reds have been better but have also been unable to get a shot on target despite eight attempts and 66% of the ball.
It was surprising to see Mohamed Salah out of the Starting XI but Szoboszlai has been good along with Wirtz, Gakpo, and Ekitike. You feel a goal will arrive for the visitors.
Leeds have done well against a big visitor again after beating Chelsea at midweek and coming up short at Man City on Nov. 29.
Cody Gakpo close!
He times his run very well and is deprived of a opening goal when his shot caroms off the back side of a Leeds defender.
The corner kick is knocked down by Lucas Perri into a sea of bodies but Leeds work it out of the box only for Liverpool to regroup in the hosts’ final third.
Eventually, after some head tennis, there’s a foul called on the Reds.
Van Dijk flashes over!
Florian Wirtz looks good again in this game, and you feel it’s only a matter of time before he has another moment in a Liverpool shirt.
The next moment, however, is Virgil van Dijk. The Dutchman beats the field to Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick but heads just high and wide of the far corner.
0-0, 27'.
Liverpool settling in
Very early openings for Leeds but Liverpool have adjusted and are now controlling the ball in the hosts’ third.
Leeds lineup
Perri, Bogle, Gudmundson, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Ampadu, Gruev, Stach, Okafor, Calvert-Lewin
Liverpool lineup
Alisson, Kerkez, Van Dijk, Konate, Bradley, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Jones, Gakpo, Wirtz, Ekitike.
Leeds vs Liverpool preview
The Reds drew Sunderland at midweek in a dour affair but would run their Premier League unbeaten streak to three with an away win. The only goal came via a Florian Wirtz-inspired own goal as Alexander Isak struggled again and Mohamed Salah entered as a halftime sub.
Leeds are coming off a home defeat of Chelsea in which they were the superior side and snapped a four-match PL losing run. Anton Stach and Lukas Nmecha have been quite good for Leeds, with the latter scoring in four-straight Premier League outings. Unfortunately, Nmecha as well as Dominic Calvert-Lewin are doubts for this game with minor injuries from Wednesday.
Daniel Farke’s team have been much better as hosts than visitors this season, and the victory over Chelsea moves their mark to 3W-2D-2L at Elland Road. They’ve only taken three points away from home.
Leeds United team news, focus
OUT: Sean Longstaff (calf), Daniel James (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Lukas Nmecha (calf), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring)
Liverpool team news, focus
OUT: Conor Bradley (unspecified), Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring), Giovanni Leoni (knee - MORE), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring)
Leeds vs Liverpool prediction
As good as Leeds have been at home, that’s still a relative concept to the Liverpool. If the Reds can’t show up and execute on Saturday, they’re in worse shape than the estimation of many. But will they perform with vigor? That’s the bigger question. Leeds 0-2 Liverpool.
How to watch Leeds vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30pm ET Saturday
Venue: Elland Road — Beeston
TV Channel: NBC
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
