Crysencio Summerville stuns Anfield as Leeds leave Liverpool in disarray - Independent 29/10/22
Richard Jolly
There are reasons why Crysencio Summerville has no memories
of Leeds’ previous win at Anfield. For starters, he was not born. Some 21 years
after Rio Ferdinand and Lee Bowyer delivered a triumph for David O’Leary’s
team, the 20-year-old conjured a victory that did not just make history. It
made his manager’s position more secure and Liverpool’s stuttering, spluttering
start to the season still worse.
Both Jesse Marsch and Leeds had said he retained the board’s
backing in a troubled time, but it is easier for their powerbrokers to endorse
the American after a run of four successive defeats was halted with a stirring,
stunning win. The supporters who had barracked Marsch at Leicester backed his
side and a hugely committed display came with an unexpected reward: Summerville
reacted quickest when the ball bounced off Patrick Bamford and showed
preternatural calm to prod a shot past Alisson. Marsch had trusted the
youngster to replace the injured Luis Sinisterra and how his faith was
justified.
In the process, he conquered fortress Anfield. This was
Liverpool’s first home defeat in 30 league games, a first with fans present
since 2017. And, while it is sandwiched by the achievement of reaching the
Champions League’s knockout stages, it made this a dreadful week on domestic
duty. Defeats to Nottingham Forest and Leeds, each kicking off in the
relegation zone, make it less likely Liverpool will have Champions League
commitments again next season.
They found a nemesis in a man who had endured a traumatic
time on his last trip to Anfield. Illan Meslier conceded six goals in February,
in a game that ushered Marcelo Bielsa towards the exit. If a return threatened
to have the same consequences for Marsch, Meslier prevented Liverpool from
finding a winner before Summerville instead turned decider. Meslier could have
conceded inside the first 40 seconds but the telling drama came at the end, not
the start; in an error-strewn game, Liverpool’s mistakes proved most costly.
They could rue an awful pass from Joe Gomez for Rodrigo’s
early opener, the way their midfield malfunctioned, especially defensively, and
their profligacy. Mohamed Salah scored a sixth goal in three home games against
Anfield, but Leeds’ regular tormentor could not muster a second g
oal from any
of his seven shots, and he was denied by one of Meslier’s better saves, while
Darwin Nunez was thwarted when his 25-yard effort was tipped over the bar.
But his finishing was erratic. The £64 million man seemed
racked by indecision when found by Trent Alexander-Arnold with a glorious
diagonal pass in the first half. When Salah latched on to a miskick by Liam
Cooper, making a second major blunder of the night, and he gifted Nunez a
glorious chance, the Uruguayan could not beat Meslier. It came amid a storm.
The last half-hour felt a bombardment, as Liverpool ended with 22 shots, and
yet only one went in. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp’s search for a system that gives
solidity continues. Liverpool were far too open. There was a frantic air to proceedings
highlighted both sides’ commitment to high-speed football, but a shared
shoddiness and a difficulty in defending.
It began with a continuation of unwanted trends. For the
12th time in 16 league games, Liverpool conceded first. They only trailed for
10 minutes as Leeds extended their unhappy habit of losing leads.
Each showed a self-destructive streak in an opening of two
comically bad back passes, each leaving a goalkeeper stranded in no-man’s land,
though only one brought a goal. Gomez seemed to have done the difficult part by
dispossessing Aaronson, but he had not looked to see Alisson before passing;
the goalkeeper slipped and Rodrigo was given an open goal. Liverpool, who
should have conceded in the third minute to Ajax, did at the same stage to
Leeds.
But United were reprieved still earlier after a similar
mishap. As Meslier charged out of his box, Cooper headed the ball past him.
Salah scooped a shot from an acute angle and it took an outstanding goal-line
clearance from Pascal Struijk to prevent Leeds from going behind inside the
first minute. Instead, they soon led.
Liverpool levelled courtesy of their two finest players.
Salah hooked in a volley from Andy Robertson’s cross with Meslier, having
missed the previous centre, not able to recover.
But Leeds showed attacking intent in a game that was more
basketball than football. It suited the energetic, excellent Aaronsen and Leeds
had twin chances to restore their advantage. Two of Marsch’s Salzburg charges
almost combined for a beauty, Rasmus Kristensen crossing for Aaronsen to crash
a volley against the bar. Then the unmarked Jack Harrison drilled a shot at
Alisson.
Rodrigo’s return to scoring form was welcome but he limped
off. The substitute Bamford’s quest for a belated first goal of 2022 included a
long-range shot Alisson held, but a terrible touch cost him a clearer opening.
It seemed to signify that Leeds’ opportunity of victory had gone. Summerville
had other ideas and ebullient visitors borrowed a taunt aimed at them,
chorusing “Leeds are falling apart again.” The club anthem “Marching On
Together” rang around Anfield and Marsch goes on, too.