LEEDS UNITED 3 VS. LIVERPOOL 3
Leeds United – Calvert-Lewin (pen) 73’, 75’, Tanaka 90+1’
Liverpool – Ekitike 48’, 50’, Szoboszlai 80’
Pre-Match
Mohamed Salah starts from the bench. A…pretty concerning development, but we’ll see how it goes. The rain is pouring in Leeds. It’s a cloudy, gloomy, and wet, perfectly English day for a football match. After a disappointing draw midweek, Liverpool look to pick up all three points against a struggling side.
First Half
Less that two minutes into the game, Leeds get their first shot on goal. It’s a close one, with Noah Okfaor’s shot thankfully pulling wide of the net. Moments later, another Leeds player shoots over the bar. Last season, I would have brushed off the opportunity as luck. This season, it feels like a grim portend of things to come. We’ll see.
Hugo Ekitike gets suckerpunched by the goalkeeper and goes down for treatment. He is okay to continue, but it was an unfortunate collision of fist, ball, and head there that stopped play for a minute.
Oof! Curtis Jones gets Liverpool’s first chance of the game at around 15 minutes in. A nice strike that slams against the bar. That looked good, though, and Liverpool have started to work themselves into this match somewhat.
Cody Gakpo gets taken down by a Leeds player as he and Ekitike raced down the pitch in a counterattack. The player gets a yellow, but the chance is lost.
Liverpool saw their best chance of the game at 26 minutes in. On a corner, Virgil van Dijk heads the ball from only eight or so yards out, but he misplaces it and it sails over the net. The captain should have done better there.
Conor Bradley earns a yellow card in extra time in the first half. This means he’ll miss the team’s next game against Brighton and Hove Albion. Cool, cool, cool. Are any of you reading this any good at playing rightback? Asking for no particular reason.
Both teams go into halftime with very wet kits and nothing to show for their efforts.
Second Half
The second half restarts with the same team.
After only two minutes, Liverpool are presented with an early Christmas gift. Leeds absolutely fumble their attempts to play it out from the back. Ekitike pounces to grab the open ball. He laser-focuses on his target and slams it into the near-post.
Mere moments later, there’s a penalty shout for Liverpool. Anthony Taylor waves it away. The ball gets repossessed by Liverpool quickly. Bradley gets a perfect ball into empty space in front of the goal. It’s just enough for Ekitike to run into and slot in another in goal. He scores a brace in under five minutes, and just like that, Liverpool lead by two.
Alisson makes a solid, diving save to avoid conceding on one side of the pitch. On the other, the Leeds goalkeeper works his own magic to keep out a good Gakpo effort towards the far post.
The first Liverpool subs came on at 67’. It’s Joe Gomez and Alexis Mac Allister on for Florian Wirtz and Bradley.
There’s a penalty shout against Ibrahima Konaté, who dives in two-footed to stop a player on the touchline. The referee checks VAR and confirms the offense. Calvert-Lewin scores, and now the lead has been cut in half.
Whoops, did I say half? I meant, we’re not tied, because moments later, Anton Stach gets the ball in front of goal, turns, and fires home. What is even happening? If you told me that me sitting here on my couch writing about Liverpool losing a lead in the last 25 minutes of a game wasn’t actually happening, but was a recurring nightmare, I would believe you. At this point, my sleep paralysis demon is a 2-0 Liverpool lead.
Van Dijk nearly puts me out of my misery, but his header is unfortunately saved by Perri, the Liverpool goalkeeper.
However, it’s not long until Dominik Szoboszlai gets the lead back for the Reds. A dummy by Mac Allister gets the ball right to Szoboszlai, who ends with a cool finish in the back of the net.
Alexander Isak and Wataru Endo come on for Gakpo and Ekitike to see out this game (hopefully).
Nope. LOL. Tanaka scores in added time to tie it up again with a header on a corner.
Final Thoughts
I’m sorry to inform you that that has, once again, happened.
