Liverpool vs Leeds United. Premier League.
AnfieldAttendance53,274.
Report and free match highlights as Crysencio Summerville's late goal seals a 2-1 win for Leeds over Liverpool; Mohamed Salah had earlier cancelled out Rodrigo's opener; Jurgen Klopp's side beaten for the fourth time in the Premier League this season
Sunday 30 October 2022 07:32, UK
Liverpool's dismal start to the Premier League season continued as Crysencio Summerville's 89th-minute strike clinched a 2-1 win for Leeds at Anfield, causing Jurgen Klopp's beleaguered side to lose more ground on the top four.
Summerville reacted quickest from Wilfried Gnonto's left-wing cross to poke a low finish beyond Alisson Becker and consign Liverpool to a second consecutive Premier League defeat and their fourth in 12 games this season.
Liverpool had been pushing for a winner after Mohamed Salah cancelled out Rodrigo's fourth-minute opener following a defensive mix-up between Alisson and Joe Gomez, but they could not find a way past the outstanding Illan Meslier, who made nine saves, the joint-most by any goalkeeper in a Premier League game this season.
Leeds defended doggedly and remained a threat on the counter-attack throughout, becoming just the latest side to find gaps in Liverpool's defence, with Brenden Aaronson hitting the bar in the first half before Summerville's dramatic winner.
The victory ends a four-game losing streak for Leeds, lifting them out of the relegation zone and easing the pressure on Marsch, but for ninth-placed Liverpool it represents the continuation of a nightmarish start which has seen them fall 13 points behind Manchester City and eight behind fourth-placed Newcastle.
Liverpool came into the game having clinched their Champions League last-16 spot with a 3-0 win over Ajax but their domestic frailties quickly resurfaced at Anfield as they conceded the first goal for the eighth time in the Premier League this season.
There appeared little danger when Gomez won possession from Aaronson on Liverpool's right flank, but he played the ball back towards Alisson without looking, the Brazilian's positioning catching him out and presenting Rodrigo with an open goal.
Gomez was not solely at fault, but it was nonetheless his second costly error in a week after he gave away the free-kick for Nottingham Forest's winner last Saturday and it set the tone for another shaky defensive performance from Klopp's side.
Up at the other end, their leveller arrived moments after Roberto Firmino had forced a save from Meslier from a Darwin Nunez pass, with Robertson lifting Trent Alexander-Arnold's deep cross back into the six-yard box for Salah to hook home his seventh goal in four starts against Leeds.
Liverpool appeared to be in the ascendency at that point, but Leeds remained a threat on the break and had the better chances of the first half after the equaliser, with Aaronson hitting the bar from a Rasmus Kristensen cross and Alisson denying Jack Harrison.
Liverpool gradually cranked up the pressure in the second half but Meslier was equal to everything they threw at him.
The Frenchman parried an angled drive from Robertson, then made a superb one-on-one save from Nunez, who he then denied again, acrobatically tipping his long-range effort over the bar.
Liverpool kept coming forward in search of a win that would have lifted them up to seventh, only one point behind Manchester United and two behind Chelsea, but Meslier twice thwarted Firmino either side of a save from Salah and suddenly Leeds struck.
Substitute Gnonto was the architect, his low cross from the left initially reaching Patrick Bamford, whose touch fell to Summerville, the 20-year-old holding off the sluggish Virgil van Dijk before firing across Alisson and into the corner.
The goal sparked delirious celebrations among the travelling fans and in the away dugout, lifting Leeds out of the relegation zone and intensifying the pressure on Klopp as Liverpool's season threatens to descend into crisis.
Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports:
"The big story will be Liverpool again - what has gone wrong with this team this season, on the back of what they've done in the last four or five years and especially last season, when they were two games away from winning four trophies? They look an absolute shadow of themselves."
"There's no doubt that the goalkeeper in the last 10-15 minutes kept Leeds in it, but if you look at the whole game you can't say Leeds haven't deserved to get something from it.
"They've been fantastic. Klopp must be thinking, what else can I try now? Different permutations, formations, personnel...
"This isn't a blip for Liverpool, this is a serious problem."
Graeme Souness on Sky Sports:
"Leeds were a team playing under pressure, you said they were a young team. They didn't play like a young team tonight.
"They played like they believed in what they were going to do and believed they were going to get a result.
"You could say it was a lucky first goal, but that's not why Liverpool lost the game.
"Liverpool are a country mile from where they were in the last few years, they don't play with the same intensity.
"They basically used to bully teams, the midfield bullied teams, and now they're being bullied."
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp to Sky Sports:
"A setback, absolutely. I thought we had a really good start to the game then we conceded a freakish goal.
"We scored the equaliser but it didn't give us the complete security back for whatever reason. We struggled with controlling the game, which is difficult against a side with the speed they have upfront.
"We gave too many balls away. The boys really tried, we had a lot of possession, we had big chances.
"But the problem is we cannot control this kind of game in the moment, and that's obviously a problem.
"With the amount of games we have, maybe some players are a little bit overplayed.
"You cannot defend like we defended around the second goal - it's just not possible. But we did and I'm not sure how to explain that now. It's happened anyway and that's why we lost.
"Otherwise, it would have been a point which would have been deserved as well and then we take a point and go from there but now we have nothing which feels completely different."
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch to Sky Sports:
"It was a good performance again and it was good that we were able to reward ourselves. My feeling is we shouldn't be in this situation we're in, but we are. I've tried to stay calm but also try to push.
"The group is strong and they're committed, so I'm thankful to have them. I think they stepped up big today and they're the reason why we were able to get the win.
"I've believed in this group. We shouldn't be in this situation - if you look at the metrics, we should not be in this situation, but we are and we've tried to maximise it at all moments and we needed something like this and now we've got to stay strong.
"We're still in a process here of trying to build something that's new and you can see in our good moments we're really good and then in our bad moments, we look too vulnerable and naive.
"But today we reduced the bad moments and increased the good moments, and then we were able to get a result.
"Everybody's made a big deal about me and firing me and I'm the problem, but the board has been with me. We've all been unified, we've stuck together so it's always 'we'."
Joe Gomez will have done nothing for his World Cup prospects with the error that gifted Leeds their first goal. The centre-back, also at fault for Nottingham Forest's winner last weekend, was described as being "all over the place" by Jamie Carragher in the first half.
Trent Alexander-Arnold had some bright attacking moments, but once again looked vulnerable defensively. Jordan Henderson, meanwhile, gave Liverpool a little more composure in midfield after his second-half introduction.
Gareth Southgate may have had half an eye on Patrick Bamford, who wasted a couple of promising positions but did end up with an assist for Crysencio Summerville's winning goal.
Liverpool host Napoli in their final Champions League group stage game on Tuesday night, before going to Tottenham for a Super Sunday clash live on Sky Sports, kick-off at 4.30pm.
The Reds then host Derby County in the third round of the Carabao Cup on November 9 before playing Southampton at Anfield three days later before the World Cup brings the season to a halt.
Leeds host Bournemouth at Elland Road next Saturday in a big game amongst the relegation candidates, before going to Wolves in the Carabao Cup on November 9. Jesse Marsch's side play their final game before the World Cup break three days later away at Tottenham.
