Leeds United came from behind twice to earn a hard-fought 3-3 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League to complete a massive week for the club, with Anton Stach saying that “against such good sides, four points is great”.
After a quiet first half, Hugo Ekitike had two goals within five minutes of the restart as he punished Joe Rodon’s lax pass then turned in Conor Bradley’s cross.
Leeds were then given hope when Ibrahima Konate fouled Willy Gnonto to concede a penalty that Dominic Calvert-Lewin clinically converted, and the hosts then scored a quickfire second of their own through Stach.
Liverpool recovered to score again with Dominik Szoboszlai latching onto Ryan Gravenberch’s brilliant pass and coolly finishing, yet Leeds refused to be beaten and substitute Ao Tanaka pounced to score yet another equaliser in the 96th minute.
Szoboszlai made a call to action after the game, saying: “Everybody has to take responsibility and not always the older guys or the guys who are here longer, everybody [has to] go on the pitch and show that you’re ready to fight for this badge.”
Leeds United player ratings
Lucas Perri - 7/10: Made a punch under pressure from Hugo Ekitike but was then beaten to the ball by the striker for his second. Did well to tip Cody Gakpo’s shot wide and save Ibrahima Konate’s header. Then made the best save of all to stop Virgil van Dijk.
Joe Rodon - 5/10: Was authoritative in the air and did well when defending against Cody Gakpo in the first half, but gifted Liverpool the opener with a shocking pass.
Jaka Bijol - 7/10: Was willing to put his head in where it hurts, notably doing so to stop Ekitike.
Pascal Struijk - 6/10: Deflected an Ekitike shot over but couldn’t catch up with him after Rodon’s poor pass. Shot wide after stealing the ball from Ilia Gruev and received a late booking for blocking Szoboszlai’s run.
Jayden Bogle - 7/10: Lost the ball in awkward areas a few times but defended well, even though he was booked after 20 minutes for going in late on Gakpo.
Anton Stach - 9/10: Put in a brilliant shift in Leeds’ midfield, doing especially well to rob Florian Wirtz of the ball, and took his goal brilliantly before delivering the corner for the equaliser.
Ethan Ampadu - 7/10: Won the ball back and played it nicely on multiple occasions while also making some important headers in his own box, but he couldn’t catch up with Ekitike after Rodon’s poor pass.
Ilia Gruev - 5/10: Worked hard for the team but there were times where he looked timid, including when Struijk took the ball off his toes in the box.
Gabriel Gudmundsson - 5/10: Showed plenty of intent going forward but was booked for a sliding tackle on Bradley, then was outdone far too easily by the right-back for Liverpool’s second.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 8/10: Won some good headers, and having often been left feeding off scraps, he clinically beat Alisson Becker with a powerfully hit penalty and challenged to make things difficult for the corner that resulted in the equaliser.
Noah Okafor - 5/10: Came agonisingly close just 90 seconds into proceedings and was initially very busy but faded as the game went on.
Substitutes
Willy Gnonto (for Okafor, 65’) – 8/10: Won the penalty within five minutes of coming on, then played a nice one-two with Brenden Aaronson in the build-up for the equaliser. Constantly asked questions.
Brenden Aaronson (for Bijol, 65’) – 7/10: Was incredibly positive in his work, especially for Leeds’ second of the game, but his late attempt was routinely saved.
Ao Tanaka (for Gruev, 65’) – 8/10: Made a great header in his own box and was positive on the ball, going on to score the equaliser.
Joel Piroe (for Ampadu, 87’) – N/R: Battled when the ball was in the corner to ensure Leeds kept possession.
Sebastiaan Bornauaw (for Bogle, 94’) – N/R: Came on late for the second time in a special week for Leeds.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson Becker - 6/10: Made a great save to deny Bogle even though it was called offside but was given no chance by Calvert-Lewin’s penalty and was wrongfooted by Stach, before Tanaka beat him late on.
Conor Bradley - 7/10: Picked the pocket of Okafor at a vital time at one end, then teed up Ekitike’s second. Got an unnecessary booking for a sliding tackle on Ampadu, which keeps him out of the Brighton match.
Virgil van Dijk - 6/10: Had some shaky moments in defence, including an undercooked back pass, but will be asking how he didn’t score, having sent one header over then had another stopped by a superb save.
Ibrahima Konate - 3/10: Had looked solid for periods, but it was his needless tackle on Gnonto that conceded the penalty that renewed Leeds’ hopes and he ducked under the ball for the equaliser.
Milos Kerkez - 6/10: Was largely strong defensively but didn’t quite get the desired output with much of his attacking play.
Ryan Gravenberch - 7/10: Was dominant in midfield for large periods and played a superb ball through for Szoboszlai’s goal, but his defending for Leeds’ equaliser was far too weak.
Curtis Jones - 6/10: Showed plenty of intent on the ball and was desperately unlucky to see his curling effort hit the crossbar, but his defending for Leeds’ second was awful.
Dominik Szoboszlai - 9/10: Showed a mixture of determination and quality throughout, taking his goal clinically.
Florian Wirtz - 4/10: Played some nice passes but had another game where he lacked any cutting edge in the areas where he could make a real difference.
Cody Gakpo - 6/10: Got into some promising positions but was unable to make the most of them, especially with a disappointing cross that cleared everyone. He was unlucky to see a curling shot tipped wide.
Hugo Ekitike - 9/10: Took a blow to the face from Perri. Even so, he carried the ball well whenever he had it and punished Rodon’s pass to score the opener, then turned home Bradley’s cross.
Substitutes
Alexis Mac Allister (for Wirtz, 68’) – 6/10: Made a good run to help create space for Szoboszlai to score Liverpool’s third but was largely ineffective outside of that.
Joe Gomez (Bradley, 68’) - 3/10: Looked shaky and was unable to stop Aaronson for the second goal, then was booked for a needless sliding tackle on Gnonto and misjudged the flight of the ball to concede the corner that Leeds scored from.
Wataru Endo (Gakpo, 83’) – N/R: Put in a good tackle on Gudmundsson when it looked like he could run through.
Alexander Isak (Ekitike, 84’) – N/R: Came agonisingly close to restoring Liverpool’s lead with a late header.
