It really is feast or famine with this Liverpool team.
Finally, 44 days after their historic 7-0 victory over arch rivals Manchester United, they won again. And in similar fashion…at the home of another perennial ‘enemy’ in the eternal northern triangle, Leeds.
If this wasn’t quite as audacious as that record-breaking dismissal of the Manchester club, it was equally convincing, Mo Salah and Diogo Jota both scoring twice as they put a sensational six past Leeds here at Elland Road.
If the victory suggests - after their 5-1 defeat here a week ago - the Yorkshire club look increasingly vulnerable in the fierce relegation scrap at the foot of the table, then it speaks of what might have been for the erratic Reds.
There were five winless games in between those two magnificent victories, and they looked bereft in most of them. Yet the nature of both those two incredible book-ending performances show that with a bit of inspiration they can be truly devastating.
It was only their fourth away win of the season, and comes far too late to revive their Champions League hopes. The reason? Before this one-sided game, Liverpool had actually failed to score away from home in the Premier League against any of the teams currently in the bottom half this season.
And for the opening half hour, you could see why. In fact, the opening five minutes highlighted their problems all season. They looked pretty enough in that period, with 80 passes to 12 from Leeds, but it was the home side who carved out the first chance for Rodrigo, who should have scored.
And Leeds continued to create more even from scraps of possession, with Luis Sinisterra going close - Liverpool, for all their possession, looked laboured, too safe in their movement and passing.
Yet on 35 minutes, the game was transformed…with yet another contentious refereeing decision playing such a crucial part in the outcome. This time, VAR didn’t even get involved, which does beg the question, what is it there for?
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Trent Alexander-Arnold clearly used his arm to stop Junior Firpo’s pass, Referee Craig Pawson failed to spot it, and after some slick exchanges with Salah, the Liverpool defender crossed for Gakpo to sweep home. Predictably, the offence was too far back in the move for VAR to check.
It sucked the life out of a Leeds side still reeling from that 5-1 home defeat by Palace, and it was no surprise they conceded another just four minutes later, with home nerves so frayed, as Jota robbed Weston McKennie before feeding Salah to bury the finish with his sweet left foot.
Liverpool did offer a brief lifeline with a shocking error of their own soon after the break, which lifted the atmosphere and the players as Luis Sinisterra finished sweetly after robbing Ibrahima Konate.
Leeds though, have forgotten how to tackle in midfield, and five minutes after that lifeline, which is a recipe for relegation. Curtis Jones was allowed to skip through two weak challenges to send Jota away to curl a lovely finish past Illan Meslier.
From game on it was game over (again), with Salah adding the fourth after another sweeping move, to show that Liverpool with that rare quality of confidence are still some team. They could be remarkable in the Europa Conference League next season.
Leeds slumped and Liverpool showed their undoubted class, when Salah scored again after another devastating move.
And when Jota scored again in the 74th minute before sub Nunez rounded it off with a sixth, it highlighted the frailty of a Leeds side who - after being on the end of a thrashing twice in a week - look suspiciously like they believe they’re doomed.
