The Guardian - Spain midfielder has protection from Fabinho, allowing him to be braver on the ball and leading to one assist against Leeds
As the game ebbed towards its unsatisfying, soft-pedalled conclusion, with their team losing 2-0 and down to 10 men, the Leeds fans decided to make their own entertainment. “Who’s the scouser in the black?” they chanted at the referee Craig Pawson after a litany of decisions had gone against them. When Pawson finally gave them a free-kick in a dangerous position, they cheered for a full 30 seconds. Apropos of very little, Sky TV was disparaged in the most industrial language.
In a way, this was a measure of just how effectively Liverpool had done their jobs here: one of the most hostile home crowds in the country reduced to ironic referee-baiting and complaints about the fixture list. There was a quiet ruthlessness to the way Jürgen Klopp’s side got their goals at the start of each half and then simply coasted their way to a comfortable victory: one admittedly tinged with sadness after the injury to Harvey Elliott. Continue reading...