Over a week ago, Liverpool were stunned when they visited Leeds United at Elland Road. The Whites had built confidence off the back of a huge win over Chelsea.
Daniel Farke’s new 3-5-2 system seemed to be working magic, after it worked to some success in the defeat to Manchester City. But it looked like the Reds were going to walk away with three points when Hugo Ekitike scored a brace early in the second half to make the score 2-0.
Leeds were then handed a lifeline when Ibrahima Konate brought down Wilfried Gnonto in the box for a penalty. The Whites came from 2-0 down and levelled the scores. Dominik Szoboszlai thought he had won the game for Arne Slot’s side, before Ao Tanaka popped up with a late equaliser.
Howard Webb defends decision against Liverpool in Leeds United game
After the game, Arne Slot was furious with the penalty decision, which he thinks brought Leeds back into the game. However, on the Match Officials Mic’d Up show, PGMOL chief Howard Webb says the referees made the right call on the day:
“When I look at the video, for me, it’s a clear penalty.
“What’s really important here is that when the contact is made by Konate on Gnonto, Konate doesn’t play the ball; he makes the contact, he takes Gnonto down. Really importantly on this is the ball is still in play at that moment.
“And you’ll hear on the comms, Anthony Taylor, the referee, saying the ball is already out of play, and that’s important, of course.
“Because if the ball is out of play when that contact happens, it can’t be a penalty kick.
“So, VAR looks at it, is able to slow it right down, break it down and see, when does the contact happen? How does that relate to where the ball was at that time?
“It was still in play, it’s a clear foul, and therefore the intervention by the VAR in this situation is a good one.
“It demonstrates the real value of having VAR to rectify what was a clear and obvious error made on the field.”
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Leeds deservedly earned a point at Elland Road
The truth is that the visitors underrated the home side, and their players even admitted it. But Arne Slot refused to accept that his team threw away the result. Leeds have been hugely dependent on home form this season, and it has earned them some huge points.
| Statistic | Leeds United |
|---|---|
| Goals | 3 |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 1.23 |
| Big Chances | 2 |
| Possession (%) | 55% |
| Shots | 7 |
| Shots on target | 5 |
Now, the club has to continue to build on this entering the second half of the campaign if they want to stay up in the top flight.
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