Leeds United A superb 3-3 comeback at Elland Road last night saw Liverpool take four points in a week against their top six opponents.
Daniel WakeHugo Ekitiké’s brace put them two goals behind just minutes after the break, but that only seemed to spur the team back into the lead. Premier League conflict.
Goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach equalized the score before Dominic Szoboszlai’s 80th-minute strike secured the visitors the three points.
However, that was not to be, and the Whites’ never-say-die attitude earned them a point, with Ao Tanaka scoring a beautiful volley from the corner in the 96th minute.
Despite Yorkshire’s impressive fightback against the Reds, a number of players struggled to impress throughout the game, potentially putting their starting roles at huge risk.
Leeds United performed poorly against Liverpool
Jayden Bogle has been Leeds United’s first-choice right-back so far this season, but his performance against the Reds was arguably one of his worst performances of the season so far.
The Englishman, who was taken off with just a minute remaining, has given up possession 11 times, two of which occurred while trying to contest opponents.
He also failed to win any tackles against Cody Gakpo and accounted for just 25 percent of his ground and aerial duels against the defending champions.
Bogle is not the only one struggling in the back five, with centre-back Joe Rodon having an exceptionally poor season in the Premier League.
The Wales international’s misplaced pass passed to Ekitic, helping the visitors build a two-goal cushion early in the second half.
He also only won 50% of aerial battles in the defensive third, but thankfully his struggles in stoppage time were saved by Tanaka.
The Leeds star Liverpool needs to give up after
If Leeds United want to stay in the Premier League this season, their ability to get out of trouble on a regular basis is likely to play a big role in any successful attempt at survival.
Few teams in the league have managed to get back within attacking range of a side of Liverpool’s caliber and Farke deserves huge praise after such a result.
The German was not afraid to make crucial changes at crucial moments in the game, making a triple substitution in the 65th minute to allow Tanaka to score and Wilfried Genonto to win a penalty for Calvert-Lewin’s goal.
Brenden Aaronson was also on hand to provide an assist, with the American setting up Stach’s shot – which restored tie for the first time in the meeting.
However, Noah Okafor is just one of the players sacrificed for the aforementioned trio and the attacker may now be worried about his starting role in Yorkshire.
The Switzerland international lasted just over an hour before being substituted, but his on-field statistics showed just how lackluster his performance at Elland Road had been.
He only completed a total of 5 passes in 65 minutes of playing time, an average of one every 13 minutes. His short stature was not suitable for the counterattack nature of the first half.
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Noah Okafor – Stats vs. Liverpool |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
consistent |
|
Minutes played |
65 |
|
touch |
14 |
|
Pass completed |
5 |
|
Dribbling completed |
1 |
|
aerials win |
0 |
|
Shot on target |
0 |
|
lose possession of the ball |
4x |
|
foul |
1 |
|
Statistics via FotMob |
|
The 25-year-old did his best to make an impact in transition but largely struggled against the Reds’ backline – as evidenced by his record of completing just one dribble.
Okafor also failed to win any aerial battles, which isn’t surprising given his size – and that’s against the likes of Virgil van Dijk.
To make matters worse, he only touched the ball a total of 14 times during the draw, while goalkeeper Lucas Perri had almost three times as many touches at 43 times.
Falke had no choice but to drop the Swiss international after a performance like this, and the trio who came on as substitutes certainly deserved to start after their onslaught in the second half.
It’s certainly not a bad decision for the manager, especially given the competition for places created by the recent situation – which will be crucial if they are to ensure survival.






