MO’S BUCKE Klopp: ‘We WILL improve’... ET LIST hat-trick since 2018 wins thriller
IT won’t be much comfort to Marcelo Bielsa but Anfield has always been a graveyard for Leeds United.
Even the late, great Don Revie enjoyed only two league victories on Liverpool soil – and that was when the Yorkshire club were in their glorious pomp.
Bielsa will have travelled back east along the M62 knowing just how the Don himself must have regularly felt almost half a century ago.
This was a cruel defeat at the hands of the champions – and Bielsa urged his men to learn from the lesson.
Mo Salah scored a hat-trick – two of them coming from the penalty spot pot – and Virgil van Dijk was also on target for or Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Three times the visitors equalised ualised – through Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford and Mateusz Klich.
But Bielsa’s side could not find d another goal to take the point their performance ormance deserved after his club’s new record-signing d-signing Rodrigo had stupidly barged over Fabinho to enable Salah to win it from the e spot at the death.
Bielsa said: “You can never be happy in defeat and this could have been avoided.
“Liverpool dominated for some e periods of the game and other times it was even. But in some parts we were superior. ior.
“We looked to play in the style we want, but at times we struggled. At this level, errors equal goals.”
One thing for certain is that the way Bielsa’s men went toe-to-toe with the best side in the country in their first Premier League game for 16 years would have been complete anathema to a master pragmatist like Revie.
The basic spirit, however, was vintage Leeds.
The first half was a five- goal slugfest.
Bielsa must have felt like kicking the bucket he perched himself on after just 236 seconds.
That was all it took for the Reds to
Leeds paid again for their naivety. Pascal Struijk’s weak clearing header fell to Salah and the Liverpool striker took a controlling touch, before bludgeoning a violent left-foot half-volley into the roof of the net from 15 yards.
Gini Wijnaldum should have stretched Liverpool’s lead on the restart but was denied by Illan Meslier’s smart save.
Klopp sent on Fabinho for Naby Kieta to offer more midfield protection.
But the visitors drew level a third time in the 66th minute.
Helder Costa’s ball was killed instantly by Klich as he arrived late into the Liverpool box and the Polish midfielder sent a fizzing shot into the far corner.
Then Phillips sent a curling free-kick inches wide at one end. Roberto Firmino wasted a glorious chance at the other.
Bielsa brought on £35million Rodrigo – but his brave bid to win the game ended up losing it for him, with the penalty blunder.
Klopp said: “Offensively it was good and defensively I am sure we will improve.
“Apart from the three mistakes the game went how we wanted it to go.
“But Leeds have got good quality. I said before the game that we would struggle because they play a game that makes it uncomfortable for you.
“But I liked a lot of what I saw from my team. I know we will improve.”
I said before the game that we would struggle... Leeds have quality and play a game that means it is never comfortable
THREE’M T ON!
And A that’s equaliser No.3, from fr Mateusz Klich... but it was not enough