Leeds v Liverpool player ratings: Firpo 2, Sinisterra 6; Salah 8, Gakpo 8

Reds run out 6-1 winners at Elland Road to boost their slim Premier League top-four hopes

LEEDS UNITED PLAYER RATINGS: Illan Meslier – 2. A forgettable night for Meslier who picked the ball out of the net on six occasions, though much was down to a shocking defensive display. Reuters

Junior Firpo – 2. Firpo’s mistake was the crucial one as he failed to clear his lines with any conviction, allowing Alexander-Arnold to assist the opener. Struggled to cope with Salah, whom he left wide open in the second half when scoring his brace. PA

Pascal Struijk – 2. Looked to give up on tracking Salah for Liverpool’s second and lacked communication with Firpo on his side. PA

Robin Koch – 3. Started brightly by marking Gakpo tightly, but in the end was part of a torrid defensive display. Beaten too easily by Robertson on Salah’s brace. Reuters

Rasmus Kristensen – 3. Kept Jota quiet early on but eventually lost track of him. Played Nunez onside for Liverpool’s sixth goal of the game. Reuters

Marc Roca – 4. Seemed to get unnecessarily dragged out to wide areas where he delivered crosses that were easily dealt with. Reuters

Weston McKennie – 4. Sloppy in possession and provided little assurance after the opening goal. Had to do more to block off the areas around the penalty area, as seen with Jota’s unchallenged volley. AFP

Luis Sinisterra – 6. Looked to make things happen when on the ball and got his reward when tackling Konate in his own half before an excellent finish. Worryingly for Leeds fans, Sinisterra was later forced off with an injury. Getty

Brenden Aaronson – 5. Unlucky with an effort before the hour mark that was inches from finding the top corner, and always tried to get Leeds going in the right direction. Reuters

Jack Harrison – 4. Struggled to create anything meaningful with play that saw attacks break down when the ball got to him. Must be much more accurate with his passing. Reuters

Rodrigo – 4. Had a half-chance from a set piece but lacked conviction with his header. Anonymous in the second half. Reuters

SUBS: Crysencio Summerville (Rodrigo 66’) – 5. Scored the decisive goal in the previous fixture at Anfield, but there was no chance of heroics this time around. Always looked to play progressively despite having a lack of options at times. AP

Georginio Rutter (Aaronsen 66’) – 5. Rarely found himself in possession after being introduced for Aaronsen in the 66th minute. AFP

Wilfried Gnonto (Harrison 77’) – N/A. Did nothing when introduced as Liverpool continued to control the game. Reuters

Adam Forshaw (Sinisterra 77’) – N/A. Introduced in the 77th minute after Sinisterra went down after appearing to tweak something. PA

LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson – 6. Commanded his area to claim the ball and positioned well to save from Rodrigo. Lost his cleansheet after a poor error from Konate allowed Sinisterra to chip past him. Getty

Andrew Robertson – 6. Pressed well and didn’t get beaten on his side, though his best moment of the match was his involvement for Salah’s brace when he breezed past Koch with an impressive first touch. Reuters

Virgil van Dijk – 7. Anticipated the danger instantly to track balls coming in behind and looked comfortable when winning his duels. AP

Ibrahima Konate – 5. - Impressive outside of one moment of madness that saw him too slow to react, failing to clear the danger amid pressure from Sinisterra. AFP

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. Got Liverpool off and running after winning back possession before assisting the opener. Regularly found space in midfield to help transition the ball forward. AP

Fabinho – 6. Alert to developing situations and blocked off the central areas of the pitch well. Kept things simple with his passing. Reuters

Curtis Jones – 7. A third Premier League start in a row for Jones who capped it off with a superb pass to Jota for Liverpool’s third. A solid display from midfield where he took good care of the ball. PA

Jordan Henderson – 7. Slow to get going but benefitted when spaces began to open. Worked hard to win the midfield battle and keep Liverpool on the front foot. Reuters

Diogo Jota – 8. A wasteful 30 minutes from Jota saw him not wake up until late on in the first half, winning back possession before putting the ball perfectly on Salah’s left-foot to finish with class. Then helped himself to two goals in the second half. Getty

Cody Gakpo – 8. Showing signs of progress in the false nine role, where he linked play elegantly on the front line. Rarely gave away possession and was patient with his decision-making. Opened the scoring and picked up an assist after finding Salah for his brace. Getty

Mohamed Salah – 8. The Egypt international was in clinical form at Elland Road, with two finishes that came from the top drawer. That is the sort of lethality that the Reds need him to show if they are to make the top four. EPA

SUBS: James Milner (Henderson 81’) – N/A. Back at the club where he made his professional debut. PA

Darwin Nunez (Gakpo 81’) – 7. Put the icing on the cake with a well-timed run and finish past Meslier. EPA

Luis Diaz (Gakpo 81’) – N/A. Back after a long time out through injury, and much appreciated by the Liverpool fans in the away end. EPA

Roberto Firmino (Jota 82’) – N/A. Came on for Jota in the 82nd minute. EPA

Thiago Alcantara (Fabinho 85’) – N/A. More beneficial minutes for Thiago who has just returned from injury. Getty

Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah grabbed two goals each as Liverpool banished their away day blues with an emphatic 6-1 Premier League victory over lowly Leeds United at Elland Road on Monday.

Jota was on the scoresheet for the first time in over a year while Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez were also on target as Liverpool recorded just their second away win in 2023.

They move to 47 points from 30 games, nine behind Newcastle United in the fourth Champions League qualification position.

Leeds had chances in the first half but just as in the 5-1 home loss to Crystal Palace in their previous match, they were far too open defensively.

They remain two points above the relegation zone after 31 games. Luis Sinisterra scored their consolation goal.

Salah now has nine goals in six league matches against Leeds, a joint Liverpool record with Gordon Hodgson, and has moved to 26 for the season after two clinical finishes.

There was some controversy over Liverpool’s first goal from Gakpo in the 35th minute as Leeds claimed a handball from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the build-up but as the fullback was not the scorer the Video Assistant Referee did not intervene.

It is a first win in six games in all competitions for Liverpool, whose Champions League qualification hopes look a long-shot, but there was some swagger back in the performance that has been missing away from Anfield this season.

Check out the photo gallery above for Adam Brown's player ratings from Elland Road. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.