ROCK-SOLID Leeds United chiselled out another crucial away point as they held Premier League champions Liverpool to a goalless draw.
The boos of some of the home fans which echoed round Anfield at the final whistle must have been music to Leeds manager Daniel Farke’s ears as his side achieved their first clean sheet on the road.
His tactical team selection was rewarded with a superbly well-organised defensive display as the Whites stretched their unbeaten run to six games and are seven points clear of the drop at the mid-point of the season.
The only blot on their evening’s work was a booking for skipper Ethan Amapdu – his fifth of the season – which rules him out of the big Sunday lunchtime clash with Manchester United at Elland Road.
With Joe Rodon ruled out with an ankle injury, summer signing Sebastiaan Bornauw was handed his full league debut and barely put a foot wrong alongside his equally impressive centre-backs Pascal Struijk and Jaka Bijol.
There was also a rare start for James Justin at right wing-back for Jayden Bogle but the biggest pre-match talking point was the benching of hot-shot Dominic Calvert-Lewin as Farke wanted to reduce his star striker’s workload.
Chances were few and far between in a game dominated possession-wise by Liverpool who could not find the key to unlock a Leeds defence which tackled, headed and blocked just about everything that came their way.
Lucas Perri had little of note to do but knew little about a bizarre Hugo Ekitike header which hit the Leeds goalkeeper in the first half when the French striker should have buried Jeremie Frimpong's hard-driven cross-cum-centre into an open goal.
Leeds had a rare opportunity in the first period when Alisson drilled a clearance straight to Ampadu 30 yards out but although the Leeds midfielder got his instant shot on target it lacked direction and power so the Liverpool goalkeeper was able to rectify his mistake.
Liverpool continued to shuffle the ball about without any great urgency in the second half despite a batch of substitutions by Arne Slot. When Farke sent on Calvert-Lewin for the last 20 minutes Leeds started to ask a few questions of the Reds’ defence.
The striker thought he had scored for the seventh game running but his slick finish on 80 minutes was ruled out for a marginal offside.
Farke said: “I’m delighted for the players who came in. It was proof today that we need each and every player.
“As a newly promoted side we needed a special performance today. It is always a special atmosphere here. To travel and show such resilience was impressive. We didn’t allow them many clear-cut chances. We had a really balanced performance today. It was a well-deserved clean sheet.”
However, he was less enamoured with referee Chris Kavanagh’s decision to give Ampadu a yellow card for handball which triggers a one-match ban.
“I have to calm myself, struggling to accept this yellow card,” said the Leeds boss.
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