A horrible injury to any player is upsetting enough but when it happens to an 18-year-old who has just announced himself in the Premier League, and is performing so thrillingly for one of its biggest clubs, then it is even more shocking.
The distress surrounding Harvey Elliott after he was caught in a sliding lunge and landed awkwardly on his left ankle was obvious. Mohamed Salah screamed to the bench and demanded help, Jurgen Klopp was quickly on the pitch and medical staff soon followed.
Even though it looked accidental, Leeds defender Pascal Struijk was sent off for the intensity of his challenge as he launched into the tackle on halfway, but he waited before walking off, clearly anxious to see how Elliott was, and was consoled by Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, who knows all about serious injury.
Elliott was eventually placed on a stretcher but was able to clap the fans and post a positive message on Instagram, with the incident – and an initial diagnosis of dislocation as he was taken to hospital – overshadowing what was an impressive win for Liverpool, who remain unbeaten and only off the top of the table on goals scored.
Big statements have been made by all of their title rivals but this is the biggest pronouncement so far from Liverpool: they have their team back, while Salah made a declaration of his own by scoring his 100th Premier League goal.
Manchester City spent £100 million on Jack Grealish, Chelsea close to that on Romelu Lukaku and Manchester United have brought back Cristiano Ronaldo. For Liverpool, the return of long-term absentees such as Van Dijk has made the difference. They believe again.
But they do still appear to be cursed by those bad injuries and, after all their problems last season, here appeared to be another given how well Elliott had performed since bursting into the team, keeping out far more senior and bigger names, and staking his claim.
Leeds nursed their own sense of grievance, directing their frustration at referee Craig Pawson over some of his decisions, but the reality is that after four league games they are yet to win and are only a point outside the relegation places. At times they were far too open and the margin of the victory was no more than Liverpool deserved.
It was summed up in Salah’s goal. Given the intensity demanded by head coach Marcelo Bielsa, the fervour of the home fans and the way Leeds tried to get at Liverpool, they were curiously passive as they fell behind. They stood off and Thiago Alcantara cleverly picked out Joel Matip, who strode forward. Under no pressure, Matip picked out Salah, who returned the ball to the centre-half. Still no pressure, so Matip swept a pass wide to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who fired in a low cross that was guided home by Salah.
Only four players have reached that 100-goal top-flight mark in fewer games (162) than Salah – Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Alan Shearer (124 games, the fewest) – and after tying up six key players to new deals in the summer (plus Elliott on an extended contract) Liverpool’s attention will surely turn to Salah, who has less than two years left. Whether the 29-year-old wants to sign up remains to be seen.
The goal was also a small landmark for Alexander-Arnold as he registered his 35th Premier League assist. Only Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs have reached that mark at a younger age than the 22-year-old, and none of those three were right-backs.
It had been coming. Liverpool were devastating on the break and although – maybe – Rodrigo should have put Leeds ahead, only to shoot at Alisson, there was chance after chance for Klopp’s side. Diogo Jota, Elliott, Van Dijk and, especially, Sadio Mane were wasteful or unfortunate, with Leeds throwing their bodies on the line and goalkeeper Illan Meslier excelling. Even so, Luke Ayling kneed the ball over when he could have equalised.
Leeds’s luck finally ran out. There could have been a penalty when Mane shaped to shoot, after running onto a fine reverse pass from Jota, with Kalvin Phillips bundling into the back of him. Even then the ball ran to Salah, whose shot was deflected by Struijk past the post. From the corner, Van Dijk again rose to head goalwards and while Patrick Bamford got in the way of Fabinho’s first effort, the midfielder stabbed home the rebound.
There was a long delay after Elliott’s injury and, with Liverpool clearly affected, the 10 men of Leeds threatened more as Alisson twice denied Bamford. He smothered the striker’s close-range effort as he dived in to meet Raphinha’s cross, then backtracked to tip the ball over when Bamford stole possession from Thiago on halfway and audaciously tried to chip the goalkeeper from just outside the centre circle.
But Liverpool remained in control. They had 30 attempts at goal and there were two more from Mane. Meslier turned his low shot away with an outstretched boot before he was beaten again in injury-time when a cross by substitute Jordan Henderson was cushioned by Thiago to Mane, who swivelled and scored. It meant the scoreline finally reflected Liverpool’s undoubted dominance.
