Two unbeaten records continued at Anfield but only one team could take satisfaction from that. Leeds succeeded in stifling and frustrating Liverpool as the first goalless draw of Arne Slot’s reign underlined the limitations that linger behind the Premier League champions’ recent recovery.
A drab scoreless draw, the first in 84 Liverpool games under Slot, owed much to the defensive dominance of the excellent Jaka Bijol and Pascal Struijk but also the home side’s inability to break down a compact Leeds unit. Liverpool were reduced to hopeful half chances and there was a smattering of boos around Anfield as the final whistle sounded on a laboured performance.
Farke sprung a surprise pre-match by leaving Dominic Calvert-Lewin out of his starting lineup. The in-form forward had scored seven goals in six games but, given his injury record at Everton, the Leeds manager took no chances with a player who has become integral to this season’s ambitions.
“If I don’t use the whole group and we have a schedule like this, I would never do this,” Farke said. “For a player like Dominic I have to look after him. We all know his recent couple of years was difficult. He is in red-hot form but it’s important I look after him and sometimes the head needs to win over the heart.” A reasonable approach was undermined by the limited contribution of Calvert-Lewin’s replacement, Lukas Nmecha, for the 70 minutes he was on the pitch before the pair swapped places again.
