The new season in the Premier League has just started, but there is already fire in England. In the first round, Liverpool ran into the crazy Leeds of Marcelo Bielsa and almost lost points. For two, the teams organized 7 goals: beginner Premier leagues he compared the score three times, and only Salah managed to snatch victory for the Premier League champion.
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If you’ve watched at least five of Liverpool’s games last season, you probably had no problem guessing the starting line-up before it was announced. The same scheme “4-3-3”, the same heroes. Even the only summer rookie of the team, Kostas Tsimikas, remained out of the application.
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Marcelo Bielsa, who just yesterday officially renewed his contract with the club, turned out to be more welcoming to newcomers than Jurgen Klopp. Leeds started with winger Elder Costa, center-back Robin Koch and goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Nevertheless, the most expensive acquisition of the club remained on the bench. Instead of Rodrigo, for whom Leeds paid 30 million euros, Patrick Bamford acted in the center of the attack from the first minute.
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The Premier League rookie was attacked by Liverpool immediately after the whistle for the start of the match. The hosts tore apart Leeds’ midfield and earned a penalty – the ball after Salah’s shot found Koch’s hand. From the point, the Egyptian shot right in the center of the goal and opened the score.
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Salah’s goal turned out to be just a modest opening act for the craziness at Anfield. In the first half, the teams took some an incredible pace even by its own standards. Forgetting about the positional attack, they strangled each other with pressure, repeatedly ran away in counterattacks, often made mistakes and scored a lot. Over the next half hour after Salah’s goal, the teams hammered as many as 4 goals.
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To even the score, Leeds’ Harrison crafted a masterpiece. The English midfielder received a steep diagonal from Phillips, clocked Gomez and Alexander-Arnold and rolled the ball into the near corner.
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In the first half, Virgil van Dijk attempted to become the most prolific goal-scoring player. The defender not only hammered the ball into Leeds’ goal along with the goalkeeper after hitting his head, but also brought the second goal against Liverpool. The Dutchman arrogantly and carelessly threw the ball to his teammate, for which he was immediately punished by Bamford. With two touches, the Englishman equalized the score and provoked a displeased grimace on van Dyck’s face.
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The Dutchman’s scoring mistake was the second in the last four matches in the Premier League. Moreover, for the previous 154 matches in Premier League van Dyck organized only one delivery.
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Salah had to take the rap for the defender’s mistake. After bouncing into someone else’s penalty area, the striker perfectly adjusted to the ball and hammered it into the near nine.
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At the beginning of the second half, Bielsa’s team unexpectedly changed. Leeds took the ball under control (from 45th to 65th minute the guests’ possession reached 62%), began to try to act positionally more often, but at the same time did not give up pressing and counterattacking. As a result, the guests managed to level the score in one of these counter-attacks. Elder Costa cut the hosts’ defense with an excellent pass, and Mateusz Klich, who burst into the free zone, sent the ball into the far corner.
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It would seem that a sensation is approaching at Anfield. But in the remaining time of the meeting, the Premier League champion woke up and crushed Leeds with attacks. The most expensive newcomer in Bielsa’s team trembled. After coming on as a substitute, Rodrigo almost with the first touch knocked down Fabinho in his own penalty area. The referee pointed to the point, and Salah beat the goalkeeper Meslier for the second time.
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The final whistle recorded “4: 3” on the scoreboard and almost a fourfold advantage in the number of shots in favor of Liverpool (22 against six). However, those who watched the meeting will probably agree that Leeds played just as well as the Premier League champion. If Bielsa’s team continues to burn like this, then, most likely, they will not only remain in Premier League, but will also compete for a place in the top ten.
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