Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live blog of this evening's Premier League encounter between defending champion Liverpool and newly-promoted Leeds United.
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An absolute cracker of a contest comes to an end as Liverpool ekes out a win over Leeds United, which was playing its first game in the Premier League in 16 years.
Salah put Liverpool ahead in the fifth minute, before a stunner from Harrison restored parity. Liverpool went up soon after through Van Dijk, but Leeds clawed back into the game through Bamford.
MATCH REPORT -
However, it was Liverpool that went into the interval with a one-goal lead as Salah struck a screamer in the 32nd minute.
The second half came to life in the 66th minute when Klich rifled a shot past Alisson to pull Leeds back into the match yet again. The game appeared to be heading for a draw before Fabinho won a penalty in the 88th minute, and Salah duly converted to secure his hat-trick and seal the win for Liverpool.
Salah also became the first Liverpool player to score a hat-trick on the opening day of the Premier League.
READ -
Here's what he said post the game - "It's a good start for us. Leeds are a good team, they played well and the intensity was really high. We did a good job in the end. It's important for me to keep focused on the penalties and score the goals – and get the three points. Leeds are a tough team, they scored three goals against us and that's unusual so we have to keep improving"
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90+4' FULL TIME - Mohamed Salah's hat-trick sees Liverpool get its title defence off to a winning start as it earns a hard-fought 4-3 win over Leeds United.
90+3' Roberts does extremely well on right flank to dodge past two defenders and float in a cross, but fails to find a team-mate.
89' A moment of madness from Rodrigo, who came on as a second-half substitute, sees Liverpool seize the lead and undo all of Leeds' resolute defending. Four minutes of added time to be played.
88' GOAAAAL! Salah converts from the spot to complete his hat-trick and put Liverpool on top with two minutes to go.
87' PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL! Rodrigo brings down Fabinho in the box and Salah steps up to take the spot-kick.
87' What a fantastic interception by Ayling! Firmino was in on goal and looked to place it on the bottom corner, but Ayling was there to deny him.
83' Leeds has more of the possession now with nearly 52 percent, but is struggling to do much with the ball. Liverpool has has 19 shots compared to Leeds' five.
81' Final change of the evening for Leeds - Klich, who struck the third goal, has been replaced by Jamie Shackleton.
80' Liverpool piling on the pressure here, offering the Leeds defence little time to breathe or really organise. A challenging final 10 minutes in store!
79' Van Dijk scores for Liverpool.....but it will not count. Jones fouls a defender in the build up to the goal and hence the goal is disallowed.
77' Kalvin Phillips free-kick curls beautifully over the wall, but drifts inches shy of the target.
76' Firmino picks up the first booking of the game and gives away a free-kick in the attacking third.
75' Curtis Jones goes to the ground in the Leeds box and looks up hopefully for a penalty, but Michael Oliver sees no foul.
70' Last 20 minutes to go and there's still everything to play for. Liverpool will be the favourite to seal a win, but Leeds has what it takes to pull off a surprise.
68' An absolute stunner of a game we have here. Leeds has shown time and again that it's not going to sit back and this is yet another shining example.
66' KLICH EQUALISES FOR LEEDS! What a spectacular team goal for Leeds. Klich is fed the ball in the box and take a touch to set it up before rifling a half-volley past Alisson to bring his side back in the game. Leeds has equalised for the third time today!
66' Second change for Liverpool: Henderson is taken off for Curtis Jones.
62' Double change for Leeds - Tyler Roberts replaces Hernandez, while Rodrigo comes on for Bamford.
60' We've reached the hour mark and the scoreline continues to read 3-2 in Liverpool's favour.
59' First change of the game - Keita is replaced by Fabinho.
58' Koch plays a through ball and Harrison does really well to receive the ball and strike it towards the goal, but he's caught offside.
55' Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen says "if they (Leeds) can beat the Liverpool press, they're straight through." Do you think Leeds can go ahead and take home points from this clash? Vote here -
53' Clever move from Alexander-Arnold. He takes the corner quickly and finds Salah on the near post. The Egyptian tries ti flick it, but his attempt only finds a defender.
49' It's nearly 4-2, but Wijnaldum scuffs the chance. He has plenty of time but fails to pick his spot and Meslieer makes a sharp save.
48' Stat - This is only the second ever Premier League game played on the opening matchday of a season to see five goals scored before half-time. The last time this happened was when Manchester United led 4-1 against Fulham in 2006.
46'KICK OFF! No changes made by either manager at the interval.
It's been an intense first 45 minutes, to say the least. Let's all catch a breather when we can, for the second half promises to be enthralling.
45+2' And that brings us to an exhilarating first half! Jack Harrison and Patric Bamford struck for Leeds, but a Salah brace and Van Dijk header sees Liverpool go into the break with a 3-2 lead.
44' Costa goes down in the box, and it appears that Salah might have brought him down. But the referee sees no foul and the replays suggest that it was the right call.
42' Just noticed how we have had no bookings so far. Interesting.
40' Stat - This is already the second-highest number of goals in a Liverpool-Leeds Premier League clash. Leeds' 4-3 win at Elland Road in 2000 is the only game to have featured more goals.
38' The game is still largely being played around the Leeds box and Liverpool players are exploiting the gaps with ease. An uphill battle here for the Leeds defence.
35' It's been a maddening few minutes with Bamford pulling his side with an opportunistic goal, but Salah got Liverpool back on top within three minutes with a an absolute screamer of a strike.
32' WHAT A WORLDIE FROM SALAH! The rebound off Robertson's free-kick falls kindly for Salah and he lets one rip with his left foot, into the right top corner, to score his second of the evening and restore Liverpool's lead.
30' BAMFORD SCORES! Van Dijk makes a poor defensive clearance and Bamford pounces on it to make it 2-2 and restore parity! Leeds United putting on a stunning show here.
27' Fantastic save from Meslier! Struijk tries to clear Robertson's cross but his attempt floats towards his own goal and Meslier makes a fantastic save to keep it out.
25' Leeds has looked good up front , but its defence is struggling to keep up with the barrage of Liverpool attacks. The likes of Sane, Keita and Salah aren't making it any easier for them....
22' Bamford has a fine chance immediately on the other end, but Alisson does well to cut out any room for a shot.
20' VAN DIJK makes it 2-1! He races past his marker, Koch, and nods in Robertson's corner to put Liverpool ahead for the second time today.
17' Mane finds the back of the net from 30 yards out, but the it does not count. Andy Robertson was offside when the pass leading to the strike was played and hence the goal was disallowed. A huge sigh of relief for the Leeds 'keeper here.
15' What a a cracker of a contest we have here! Two goals already and we've only had 15 minutes of play. This has all the m makings for a terrific game.
13' Leeds have stormed back into the game with that goal and have shown they're not going to back down.
12' LEEDS EQUALISE! Jack Harrison with a stunner to bring Leeds back on level terms. Phillips plays a delightful lob and Harrison shows excellent control as he works his way past two defenders to bury it in the left bottom corner.
9' Leeds find the back of the net....but Costa is off-side. It took them a while but the Leeds players are finally managing to get into some sort of rhythm.
RECORD: Mohamed Salah becomes the first Liverpool player to score in matchweek 1 in four consecutive Premier League seasons.
6' Far from an ideal start for Bielsa on his Premier League debut. Leeds is yet to carry the ball past the mid-line here...
5' SALAAAAAAAAH! He goes for pace and blasts it down the centre to put Liverpool, the defending champion, ahead. It doesn't get easier than this for Salah!
4' PENALTY! The ball strikes Robin Koch on the arm inside the box and it's a penalty for Liverpool.
2' Pacey start here for Liverpool. Keita makes a surging run and plays Firmino in on goal, but Meslier rushes off his line to make a fine block.
1' KICK OFF!
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9:50pm: Right then, the players are through with their warm-ups and we're 10 minutes away from kick-off! Who do you think will come out on top today?
9:40pm: Premier League clubs voted at their annual general meeting last month against continuing to allow the use of five substitutes in each game. Liverpool boss Klopp was not happy with the decision. Here's what he had to say.
9:30pm: Stat - Since a 2-1 Premier League defeat in April 2001, Liverpool has not lost to Leeds United in their last eight meetings across competitions.
9:20pm: Going into Liverpool's first game of the campaign, one cannot help but dwell on the club's phenomenal season last term.
Long after getting knocked off its perch, Liverpool — after many a false dawn — finally climbed to the zenith of the English game in a season like never before. And for for a city and a club groaning under the weight of expectation, the joy of a long-awaited success knew no bounds. READ -
9:10pm: Speaking of Bielsa - the Argentinian will become the second-oldest permanent post-war manager since Dick Advocaat to take charge of his first match in the English top flight. The master tactician is all aged 65 years and 53 days. Here are his thoughts ahead of his Premier League debut -
9:05pm: Line ups!
Liverpool XI - Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Keita, Mane, Salah, Firmino
Leeds United XI - Meslier, Ayling, Koch, Struijk, Dallas, Phillips, Klich, Harrison, Hernandez, Costa, Bamford
9pm: My gut feeling says Leeds might just pull off a surprise at Anfield today. It's Bielsa....he's always got a trick up his sleeve,doesn't he? Go ahead and have your say on our Twitter poll!
8:50pm: Where we all wish we were right now....
8:40pm: Liverpool will need to make a late call regarding Jordan Henderson, Xherdan Shaqiri and Kostas Tsimikas' availability, while Leeds United has no major injury concerns except for Adam Forshaw, who is out with a hip injury.
8:30pm: Salah has been Liverpool's star striker, but Jurgen Klopp feels the Egyptian is often taken for granted.
8:20pm: Stat - If Mohamed Salah finds the back of the net today he will become the first Liverpool player to score in Matchweek 1 in four consecutive Premier League seasons.
RELATED|
Liverpool, unbeaten at Anfield since April 2017, will look to extend its unbeaten home run to 60 matches when it hosts Leeds United this evening, which will play its first Premier League fixture in 16 years. Here's our match preview -
Liverpool vs Leeds - Back to the 70s
Leeds United has waited 16 long years to return to the Premier League and Marcelo Bielsa's side will get a very clear reminder of what it is now up against when it faces champion Liverpool on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp's side dominated the Premier League last season, winning its first domestic league title for 30 years by a massive 18-point margin from Manchester City.
Leeds won the second-tier Championship by 10 points to secure its long-awaited promotion and are entering the top flight on a high, though it is a pity that their fans will still not be able to support their team in person.
While the Yorkshire club has work to do to re-establish itself in the Premier League, the fixture brings back memories of great clashes between the clubs in the early 1970s when it was among the top teams in the country.
That period included a memorable Charity Shield game in 1974 when Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner were sent off after punches were thrown at Wembley.
Pressing rather than punching is likely to be the order of the day on Saturday and it will be fascinating to see Leeds, with its new Spanish striker Rodrigo, play their high-energy approach against Klopp's similarly relentlessly attack.
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