Liverpool cough up two-goal lead in Elland Road gripper
Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate fouls Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto and gives away a penalty during the Premier League match at Elland Road. Pic: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Ao Tanaka's stoppage-time equaliser capped a dramatic Leeds comeback as Liverpool once again pressed the self-destruct button.
It looked like being a case of no Mo no problem as Hugo Ekitike took centre stage with a clinical second-half brace that should have brought with it a comfortable victory for the visitors.
But Leeds showed bags of resolve to twice fight back seemingly from the dead to earn a deserved point as substitute Tanaka thrashed home at the far post to level as not for the first time the visitors struggled to clear a corner.
Daniel Farke's side came from two down as goals in the space of three minutes late on from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anton Stach drew them level before Liverpool's best player Dominik Szoboszlai restored the lead 10 minutes from time.
Salah, who had scored nine times in his six previous outings against Leeds, was again left to kick his heels among the embarrassment of riches Slot could afford to leave out of his starting XI.
After eight Premier League games without a goal, Ekitike found the net twice in the space of 130 seconds at the start of the second half.
The Frenchman pounced on a woefully underhit Joe Rodon pass intended for compatriot Ethan Ampadu to sprint clear and beat Lucas Perri with a composed low finish three minutes after the interval.
As the hosts were coming to terms with that self-inflicted wound, Liverpool's £69m summer arrival doubled the advantage, beating a leaden-footed Perri to Conor Bradley's fine low cross from the right after the full-back dispossessed Gabriel Gudmundsson.
There looked to be more than a hint of offside as Ekitike poked the ball home at the near post, but the goal withstood lengthy VAR scrutiny to stand.
Slot made four changes from the midweek draw with Sunderland, but a return for Salah wasn't one of them.
The Egyptian took his place on the bench for the third consecutive match to see Curtis Jones come closest to breaking the deadlock in a first half without a shot on target from either side when the midfielder's curling 20-yard effort came back off the bar.
Bradley picked up a fifth booking of the season to earn the Irishman a one-match suspension and in similar fashion, Leeds weren't helped by both of their wing-backs earning yellow cards for needless fouls inside the opening half an hour as Liverpool exerted mounting pressure.
Chances remained at a premium and Virgil van Dijk should have done better when heading over from close range as he beat Jaka Bijol to an inviting Szoboszlai free-kick into the area.
Cody Gakpo fired narrowly wide of the near post with a presentable chance for the Dutchman as the visitors clocked-up a 10th goalless first-half this season.
Leeds' best early chance came in the opening 90 seconds. Liverpool were caught flat-footed by Perri's long clearance but escaped when Noah Okafor, one of two changes from Wednesday's victory over Chelsea, failed to make a clean contact to pull an angled drive wide from the edge of the area.
Ekitike's double changed the complexion of the contest although Farke's trio of substitutions had a near immediate effect as Willy Gnonto earned a penalty with a theatrical fall under minimal contact from a needless Ibrahima Konate challenge.
Calvert-Lewin stepped up to beat Alisson with a confidently-taken spot kick to score for the third successive game. Less than three minutes later the hosts were level. As Liverpool stood off, Brenden Aaronson's ball into the box found Stach, whose shot from a dozen yards beat Alisson at the Brazilian's near post.
Parity lasted just five minutes. Alexis MacAllister's delicious dummy allowed Szoboszlai to run onto a Ryan Gravenberch through ball to beat Perri from a dozen yards with a calm finish into the bottom corner.
Such was Liverpool's exuberance at restoring their lead, van Dijk earned a yellow card for accidentally kicking the ball against referee Anthony Taylor amidst the celebrations.
They proved premature as Tanaka struck for the second successive game to lift his side three points clear of the relegation zone in a draw which must have felt like a win - and one which must have been akin to a defeat for Slot.
Perri 7; Rodon 4, Bijol 5 (Aaronson 65, 6) Struijk 6; Bogle 6 (Bornauw 90, 5), Ampadu 6 (Piroe 87, 5); Gruev 5 (Tanaka 65, 7) Stach 7, Gudmundsson 6; Calvert-Lewin 7, Okafor 3 (Gnonto 65, 6). Booked: Bogle, Gudmundsson.
Alisson 6; Bradley 8 (Gomez 68, 6), Konate 4, van Dijk 6, Kerkez 5; Gravenberch 6, Jones 6; Szoboszlai 9, Wirtz 4 (MacAllister 68, 7), Gakpo 6 (Endo 83, 6); Ekitike 8 (Isak 84, 6). Booked: Bradley, van Dijk, Gomez.
Anthony Taylor
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