Jota takes timely step
It would have been entirely understandable had, half-an-hour into this game, Jurgen Klopp put his arm around Diogo Jota and gently ushered the forward towards the tunnel.
Just about everything was going wrong for the Portuguese, who by then had already given the ball away a whopping 11 times, often pretty horribly too.
He was every inch a player bereft of confidence having not scored in 373 days.
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And then it clicked.
Jota’s work-rate, the one constant throughout his travails, saw him win the ball from Weston McKennie in midfield and begin a sprint towards the Leeds goal, before his pass left invited Mohamed Salah to smash home Liverpool’s second. Remarkably, it was his 12th assist since last having scored, only Salah having more for the Reds in that time.
If the relief wasn’t tangible then, it certainly became so during a second half in which the pressure appeared to lift off the shoulders of the Portuguese with each passing second.
While his goal drought was ended in emphatic fashion with a confident finish following an excellent Curtis Jones assist, it was his second, striking first-time when Jordan Henderson’s cross dropped at his feet, that indicated a player growing in belief. It was the Jota of old.
As Klopp later admitted , Jota isn’t back to his best just yet. But, given the growing competition in attack, this was a timely, much-needed step in the right direction.
Happy Diaz here again
It may have lasted less than 15 minutes. But after 190 days on the sidelines, Luis Diaz was determined to savour every second.
The sight of the Colombian trotting on to the field as a late substitute gave the travelling Kop even more reason to cheer on an evening in which, for only the fourth time in the Premier League this season, their journey was rewarded with three points.
That Diaz barely saw the ball was irrelevant. Having missed the previous 31 games with a serious knee problem, just seeing the winger back on the pitch was encouragement enough, the Reds having sorely missed the direct, devastating running that made him such a hit on his arrival in January last year before the initial injury suffered in October.
Like Jota, the best of Diaz won’t be seen until next season. His minutes will be managed, and there will be occasional start over the closing games.
But Liverpool’s bench at Elland Road was arguably as strong as it has ever been this campaign, Klopp now possessing the attacking options he has needed for too long.
And it won’t pass unnoticed that with Diaz again loitering, the other four forwards expected to challenge for a starting role next season all scored here.
Klopp gets it wrong
Jurgen Klopp wasn’t quite right in last week agreeing with the assertion Liverpool now have nothing to lose this season.
Sure, it will take a miraculous effort to claim a top-four berth, even if this win would have sent a mild shudder through the teams above them. Nine points adrift with only 24 now available, it seems a big ask.
European qualification, though, has to be an aim, with this victory – Liverpool’s 250th on the road in the Premier League – an emphatic response to good wins for Aston Villa and Brighton over the weekend.
With five of the remaining eight games at home, the Reds have at least one advantage, the loss to Leeds six months ago – avenged impressively here – the only time they have been beaten in the top flight at Anfield this term.
And as the improving form of Curtis Jones is demonstrating – the midfielder stepping up impressively after the break here – there is still a chance for fringe players to stake a claim for the remainder of the campaign and beyond.
The ultimate reward may not be what Liverpool have grown accustomed to under Klopp. But there is still plenty to be gained between now and May 28.
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