Leeds vs. Liverpool: *Bumper* Post-Match Analysis

Paul Tomkins, Andrew Beasley, Daniel Rhodes and other TTT regulars will give their thoughts on the match for 24 hours after the game, so the article received via email is unlikely to be the final version. There's statistics from the match and videos too.

Post-Match Thoughts

Paul Tomkins

Finishing is so random; sometimes the goals flood in, other times there's a drought. People obsess over results, but the element of luck has to be factored in, too.

“They have scored only one goal from their last 56 shot attempts in away matches” was a stat the BBC shared about the Reds before the game.

Up until the weekend, Chelsea had gone 52 shots without a goal, including some good chances against the Reds; then a harmless effort from Connor Gallagher massively deflected in. (That said, it still ended in a defeat.)

Also, I think it was in the winter of the title season when the Reds' opponents failed to score with 50+ efforts in a row. Alisson made some big saves, but teams kept missing the target as well.

Anyway, after one goal in a sequence of 56 shots away from home, it was six in the next 13. New players scored and created goals, and new tactical plans helped carve Leeds apart, as Jürgen Klopp's rebuild showed the potential of what it can be, before the summer recruitment kicks in.

When relaxed, the Reds can score hatfuls, as they did at home to Bournemouth and Man United, but the failure to take chances in other games has made players anxious, which then makes finishing even harder.

Diogo Jota – already in the 99th percentile for assists-per-90 (for attackers) before tonight's fixture – had gone over 20 league games without a goal, and as often happens, scored a second with a relaxed swing not long after he ended the barren run.

But to me, this was just as much about the assists as the finishing. Both were excellent.

The remaining three-quarters of my comments and those of the others follow for subscribers only.