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LIVERPOOL, England – There are two ways to evaluate Liverpool’s 4-3 win against Leeds United on the opening day of the 2020-21 Premier League season. Either it was a sensational showcase of everything that makes the Premier League the highest-grossing competition in world football, or it was a game where the coaches manual was thrown out the window and chaos reigned.
– Report: Liverpool 4, Leeds United 3
– Liverpool ratings: Salah the star with hat-trick
– Klopp: Liverpool vs. Leeds ‘a worthy show’
The reality is that it was both. Liverpool offered a glimpse of the complacency that could derail their title defense before it even gets underway, while Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds, playing their first Premier League game in 16 years, showed the naivety that makes them. wonderful to watch, but suggests there will be plenty of exciting games for the club if they want to avoid relegation to the EFL Championship this season. By the time Mohamed Salah sealed a hat-trick with a penalty in the 88th minute, his second penalty of the game, there were four goals disallowed (two each) and a string of missed chances by both sides.
“What a game, what an opponent, what a performance from both teams,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “It was a real show, I loved it. But we have left room to improve our defense, but that is not unusual for a first game.”
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Although the Klopp champion finished the game with three points, he will have seen a lot in the 90 minutes to leave him enraged with his players behind the locker room door. Don’t be fooled by the happy, smiling perspective given to television cameras. As for Leeds, they showed a healthy lack of respect for their opponents and came close to a remarkable result. Yes, they lost, but they had a good enough chance of winning and their performance at Anfield will give newcomers to the Premier League the belief that they can compete at this level and safeguard their place in the top flight, having fought so hard and for that. long, to get it back.
But let’s start with Liverpool. Runaway champions last season, they recorded their 26th Premier League home win in their last 27 games against Bielsa’s side, a result that extended their unbeaten streak at Anfield to 60 games since April 2017. The result is, Ultimately, what matters and Salah’s hat-trick will also come down very well, and the Egyptian will waste no time going off the season mark. But the positives won’t help Klopp sleep better when he begins to analyze defensive woes that almost cost his team dearly.
Trent Alexander-Arnold had a torrid moment from Leeds winger Jack Harrison, who is on loan on Elland Road from Manchester City, with the open man easily defeating him en route to score the equalizer in the 12th minute for the visitors after that Salah’s first penalty had scored. Liverpool ahead. Alexander-Arnold’s defensive play has never been his strength, but Harrison exposed all his weaknesses. And when the England full-back addressed his own net in the second half, he seemed to have completed a nightmare afternoon; Luckily for the Reds, he was ruled out for an offside decision early in the play.
Leeds almost scored points with their positive approach against the defending champs, but they will have to adjust to life at this level to avoid falling again. Paul Ellis – Pool / Getty Images
Alexander-Arnold wasn’t the only Liverpool defender to have a bad day. Joe Gomez wobbled in the middle, while Virgil van Dijk, the typically unflappable and incomparable Van Dijk, gifted Leeds their second goal when Patrick Bamford slipped him into an error, who scored to make it 2-2 in 30 minutes. , canceling Van Dijk’s 20th minute header.
Perhaps Naby Keita’s selection ahead of Fabinho in midfield contributed to the lack of defensive certainty, with Keita unable to contribute industry and the Brazilian’s conscience. But there was a tangible sense of complacency at Liverpool’s rear, something that had started to creep in towards the end of last season. Teams now know that a quick counterattack can knock Liverpool out and Leeds did it time and time again.
Perhaps the lack of new blood in key positions has also contributed to that complacency. Dejan Lovren was sold to Zenit St. Petersburg this summer, but has yet to be replaced. There is little pressure on Gomez or Van Dijk to act, and even less on Alexander-Arnold, who has no obvious rival on the right back. Leeds opened holes in Liverpool’s defense throughout the afternoon, so much so that the champions will have to be much sharper when they visit Chelsea on September 20.
The fact that Liverpool won, courtesy of Salah’s late penalty, is a testament to their quality and determination, but this team certainly has its weaknesses.
Leeds also have issues to tackle, but their start to the season was largely positive despite the loss. His incessant running, his tidy passing and his pace of work will ensure more good days than bad; their chase for lost causes certainly upset Liverpool’s usual pace on the ball, but perhaps this defeat accelerates the realization in Leeds that their gentleman football needs a touch in the Premier League toned down.
Top teams like Liverpool will punish you for every mistake and overly adventurous pass, and they will concede a lot of goals, but Leeds has brought some fun and fantasy to the Premier League; your learning curve will be worth watching.
So will Liverpool’s. They may be champions, but they have flaws to fix. Like Leeds, they will pay a price if they don’t.
Source: espn.co.uk
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