Tanaka strikes late as Leeds deny Liverpool before Salah outburst
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Soon after the final whistle, Mohamed Salah accused the club of throwing him “under the bus” after he was left out of the starting lineup for the third game running, saying he has been made a scapegoat for the poor start to the season and casting severe doubt on his future at the club.Liverpool have now won just two of their last 10 league games and that they remain within a point of Champions League qualification is the result in part of the string of unlikely late winners with which they began the season, and in part of the crowded middle of the table; two points separate fifth from twelfth.They won their last away game by that familiar 2-0 scoreline, but nobody can be sure whether a win at West Ham means they’ve played well or just been playing West Ham. Their three goals all stemmed from fine finishes and one from clever buildup play, but the image of the game – once again – was Virgil van Dijk standing, hands on hips, steam rising both literally and metaphorically as he glared in disbelief at the bizarrely diffident defending around him.Sometimes the opening minutes of a half can give a false impression.As Leeds had three shots in the opening five minutes, it seemed that they might be about to carry on the form that enabled them to rattle Manchester City in the second half of their defeat at the Etihad a week ago before beating Chelsea on Wednesday.
Other than Curtis Jones whipping a shot against the bar, very little happened for the rest of the first half, which felt like an achievement from a Liverpool point of view.The opening to the second half proved just as illusory, as Liverpool swept into a 2-0 lead.Hugo Ekitiké gives Liverpool the lead. Ekitiké’s first was the result of a sloppy square ball from Joe Rodon while his second, which came while the video assistant referee was checking whether his heel had been clipped in the box, came after Conor Bradley had nipped in front of Gabriel Gudmundsson to keep the ball in play.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionLast season, that might have been that, but for Liverpool at the moment nothing can ever be straightforward.
Two minutes later, with Elland Road raucously energised, another sub, Brenden Aaronson, after combining with Gnonto, slipped a neat ball inside for Anton Stach, who slammed in the equaliser.Quick GuideKey statsShow • Ao Tanaka’s equaliser for Leeds was the third result-altering goal Liverpool have conceded in the 90th minute or later of a Premier League game this season (also winners for Crystal Palace and Chelsea), their joint most in a single campaign in the competition, along with 2010-11.• Only Nottingham Forest (11) have conceded more goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season (excluding penalties) than Liverpool (10). It’s more than the Reds shipped from set plays in the whole of 2024-25 in the league (9).• There were 130 seconds between Liverpool’s first and second goals of this game, and then 165 seconds between Leeds United’s first and second goals.