With a victory over Leeds in the books, we dig a little deeper
into what it means for Liverpool.

The entire point of football is entertainment. I know that can
get lost in the journey but that’s really all this is. It’s
supposed to just be something we watch, smile at, and move on with
our lives. We’re the psychopaths who decide to care deeply about a
game. If you weren’t entertained by Liverpool beating Leeds United by 4-3 then I’m not sure what to
say to you. This is supposed to be fun and that was very fun. Live
a little and let your hair down, we’re champions for a reason.

Liverpool weren’t at their best today. That’s okay, it’s the
first match of the season and the last season ended like 34 minutes
ago. There’s a reason for everything and we’ll chat later on about
why Liverpool weren’t very good, but Leeds were very good. So much
of the pre-match buildup was spent talking about Marcelo Bielsa and
his refusal to change his approach. We saw today the best of that
and the worst of that. 90 minutes of pure pressure. A lot of teams
will play Liverpool home and away this season like cowards. Bielsa
and his Leeds side aren’t that. That should be exalted.

If football were a computer you could put that match into a
simulation and probably four or five times out of ten Liverpool win
comfortably 3-0. But that’s not what football is and we’re better
off because of it. Football is influenced by humans, error and
brilliance alike. We get to see Virgil van Dijk make a mistake and
we get to see Bielsa’s meticulous planning play off with some
brilliant goals.

Let’s dig a little deeper into what we saw in Liverpool’s
victory over Leeds.

Winners and Losers

Winners

Mo Salah

It’s obvious that if a player scores a hattrick that includes
the game winning goal at the end of the game, he automatically gets
to be the first Winner. I remarked at halftime that Mo was the only
Liverpool player who was actually having a game. It was an
exaggeration but there was some truth in it. The stats speak for
themselves:

Andy Robertson

Sometimes we can take Robertson for granted. While every other
Liverpool defender was trying to figure out why their boots were
tied together, the Scottish leftback was defensively solid and
provided a constant threat going forward.

Substitutions

Jurgen Klopp got all of his subs absolutely spot on. Henderson
was really struggling as the deepest midfielder today because he’s
still working his way back from injury and isn’t fully match fit.
Fabinho came on and did what he does. And he won the penalty to win
the game.

Curtis Jones provided a spark off the bench and gave the
midfield some drive. He’s definitely one to watch for the future.
What a talent he is. Constantly involved on and around the ball,
not shying away from anything.

Losers

Defending, in general

Liverpool might have the best defense in the world. But the best
defense wasn’t at their best today. van Dijk made a massive mistake
that led to a goal. Joe Gomez was all over the shop. It’s obvious
that Trent Alexander-Arnold is rusty and hasn’t had a preseason.
Even Alisson could’ve had a better game.

Leeds gave up two penalties. They have mostly Championship
quality defenders despite recently signing Robin Koch, a full
German international. They’ll need to be better this season.

Bielsa’s blood pressure

It feels harsh to put this in the losers category, but I already
have three winners and I get to make the rules. Leeds were setup
brilliantly against Liverpool. Their press is very impressive
(hehe, that’s a pun). Their third goal in particular showed that
Bielsa had done his homework and knows where to attack Liverpool’s
back line. They could’ve got something from this game if they could
defend set pieces and not concede dumb penalties.

What Happens Next?

Liverpool made tough work against Leeds and they face Chelsea next. The London club spent the summer
buying just about every attacking player in Europe, but no one
knows how everyone will gel together. The Reds will need to be
focused to beat Chelsea. Clean up the mistakes and things should be
good. It’ll be fun no matter what.