Rampant Liverpool closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to three points after cruising to a sixth Premier League win in a row at Leeds United’s expense at a raucous Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s side warmed up for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final with an utterly dominant display that included three goals in 20 first-half minutes.
Two of those came from penalties by Mohamed Salah, who also set up defender Joel Matip for his first goal since December 2020.
Sadio Mane added two late goals and Virgil van Dijk scored with an added-time header.
The margin of Liverpool’s win means they have a superior goal difference to title rivals City, who are due to meet on 9 April at Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool now have a difference of +50 compared to Pep Guardiola’s side’s +46, with both teams having played 26 games.
Ruthless Reds warm up for Wembley in style
Liverpool were looking for the perfect preparation before this weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley – and they eventually turned on the style against struggling Leeds.
Klopp said before the game he was not thinking about the title race and only concentrating on picking up three more league points.
Yet the Reds, who are in the fifth round of the FA Cup next week and have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after establishing a 2-0 first-leg against Inter Milan, remain very much in the hunt for four trophies after a ninth straight win in all competitions.
City were 14 points clear of Liverpool after beating Chelsea on 15 January, albeit Guardiola’s side had played two games more.
But Klopp’s men have impressively clawed back 11 of those to create the prospect of an exciting title race with 12 games left.
Liverpool have now scored 70 Premier League goals this season – two more than they managed in 38 games on their way to finishing third last season – and Salah has 19 of those in another impressive season for the Egypt forward.
He opened the scoring from the spot after Stuart Dallas handled inside the box before Salah’s pass allowed centre-back Matip to double the lead with a sweeping finish any of Liverpool’s front three would have been proud of.
Salah made it 3-0 when Mane was fouled by Luke Ayling and then missed a couple of chances to complete his hat-trick.
However, Mane – playing through the middle with Luis Diaz on the left – added the fourth after an assist by substitute Jordan Henderson before the Senegal forward made it 5-0 when he was left unmarked on the edge of the six-yard area.
Van Dijk’s late header means Liverpool head to Wembley on the back of scoring six goals at home in the Premier League for the first time since November 2016, when they hammered Watford 6-1.
More to follow.
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Liverpool
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squad number7player nameMilner -
squad number14player nameHenderson
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squad number27player nameOrigin
Leeds United
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squad number1player nameMeslier
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squad numberfifteenplayer nameDallas
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squad numbertwoplayer nameAyling
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squad numbertwenty-oneplayer nameStruijk
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squad number3player nameFirpo
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squad number4player nameForshaw
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squad number10player nameraphinha
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squad number43player nameKlich
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squad number19player nameRodrigo
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squad number22player nameharrison
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squad numbertwentyplayer nameJames
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squad numberelevenplayer nameroberts
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squad number30player nameGelhardt
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squad number46player nameShackleton
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Allison
- 66Alexander-Arnold
- 32Matip
- 4van Dijk
- 26Robertson
- 17jonesSubstituted forMilnerat 77′minutes
- 3fabinho
- 6Thiago AlcantaraSubstituted forHendersonat 68′minutes
- elevenSalah
- 10Mane
- 23DiazSubstituted forOriginat 85′minutes
substitutes
- 5Konate
- 7Milner
- 8Keita
- 14Henderson
- fifteenOxlade-Chamberlain
- 18Minamino
- twenty-oneTsimikas
- 27Origin
- 62Kelleher
leeds
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Meslier
- fifteenDallas
- twoAylingBooked at 33mins
- twenty-oneStruijk
- 3FirpoBooked at 18mins
- 4Forshaw
- 10raphinha
- 43KlichSubstituted forShackletonat Four. Five’minutes
- 19RodrigoSubstituted forrobertsat Four. Five’minutes
- 22harrison
- twentyJamesSubstituted forGelhardtat 61′minutesBooked at 90mins
substitutes
- elevenroberts
- 13Klaesson
- 26Bat
- 30Gelhardt
- 35Cresswell
- 38Summerville
- Four. FiveMcCarron
- 46Shackleton
- 54Kenneh
LiveText
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Match ends, Liverpool 6, Leeds United 0.
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Second half ends, Liverpool 6, Leeds United 0.
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Goal! Liverpool 6, Leeds United 0. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) header from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Andrew Robertson with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Liverpool. Grant by Raphinha.
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Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Fabinho (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United).
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Goal! Liverpool 5, Leeds United 0. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) left footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner.
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Attempt saved. Divock Origi (Liverpool) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the center of the goal. Assisted by James Milner with a through ball.
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Attempt blocked. James Milner (Liverpool) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Corner, Liverpool. Awarded by Pascal Struijk.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Divock Origi replaces Luis Diaz.
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Luis Diaz (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tyler Roberts (Leeds United).
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Goal! Liverpool 4, Leeds United 0. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) right footed shot from the center of the box to the high center of the goal. Assisted by Jordan Henderson.
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James Milner (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Jamie Shackleton (Leeds United).
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Substitution, Liverpool. James Milner replaces Curtis Jones.
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Attempt saved. Curtis Jones (Liverpool) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the center of the goal. Assisted by Andrew Robertson.
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Attempt missed. Stuart Dallas (Leeds United) left footed shot from the center of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Junior Firpo.
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Reference-www.bbc.co.uk