Liverpool started 2026 on a tear after suffering a 0-0 draw with an impressive Leeds at Anfield on New Year’s Day.
Arne Slott’s side struggled to create chances against Leeds, who were missing key players including Dominic Calvert-Lewin from the starting XI. Daniel Farke’s side earned a well-deserved point, extending their unbeaten run to six.
Liverpool had won their previous four matches in all competitions, but the draw in front of disgruntled fans meant they missed a chance to move five points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea. For Leeds, this point is even more valuable. There are only 7 left until the drop zone.
Leeds frustrated Liverpool from the start and tested their weaknesses from set-pieces, but they could have taken the lead had skipper Ethan Ampadu been quicker to connect with Alisson Becker’s poor pass from the back. Liverpool were too casual.
The best route to goal appeared to be with Jeremy Frimpong playing on the right, and it was his cross-shots that created the best chances in the opening 45 minutes. Hugo Ekitike, who had earlier called for a penalty, somehow deflected the ball wide.
Oddly, given the relative resources of both teams, it was Farke who appeared to have more of a game-changing player on the bench, alongside in-form striker Calvert-Lewin (who has scored in the last six games), among Leeds’ substitutes.
In fact, Calvert-Lewin put the ball in the back of the net immediately after coming on, but was ruled offside by a narrow margin.
Manager Slott tried to inject energy with a triple change by removing Florian Wirtz, who had disappointed expectations, but Virgil van Dijk’s free header from a corner kick went wide, and Liverpool were just one step away from finding a breakthrough.
Frimpong: I tried hard, but I wasn’t trying hard enough.
Liverpool’s Jeremy Frimpong told Sky Sports:
“It’s frustrating. We wanted to win the game. They defended well. In the end, it was 0-0, which is very frustrating, but we’ll use it for the next game.
“They defended us really well. Of course we tried, but we didn’t try hard enough. We had a few, I had a few, but I think we should have delivered the ball better.”
“We have trained, recovered and we know what we can do. We have created a lot of chances. We need to go into the next game and do better at what we have to do.
“We know what to do, we know the moves, we know the patterns.”
Slots: No penalties
Liverpool manager Arne Slott told Sky Sports.
“There were obviously moments in the first half where we didn’t go to the floor, but you don’t get penalized every time you go to the floor, so that’s understandable.
“Those are the margins. You see other teams fall behind in those situations, but we don’t do that. We’ve been behind this season when there were some fouls and no penalties were given.
“Generally we talk about that and other players going down easily to get free kicks and other moments, but this is us.
“Against West Ham, Lucas Paqueta did everything to get his second yellow and Alisson, who plays with him in the national team, tried to help him avoid it. In the end, he got his second yellow in the match.”
“If other fans and people look into it, they’ll find moments where we were down and got nothing. At the end of the day, that’s who we are.”
Justin: We chose the right strategy.
Leeds’ man of the match James Justin told Sky Sports:
“It was a good battle and they are a great team. They haven’t been at their best this season, but with the quality they have they can always be the key to the team.
“Yeah, have your back for us.
“In the days leading up to the game, there was a lot of emphasis on trying different types of shapes with different players, with a few guys stepping in who hadn’t played much.
“I chose the right strategy today!”
Falke: Great point, good evening.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke told Sky Sports:
“They were working on it, so we had to show a lot of resilience, stubbornness and structural strength.
“We had a good start in this game, but of course we struggled a lot and had to push back. Liverpool had a lot of possession and took a lot of shots, but we didn’t have any clear-cut chances.
“I’m very happy with the clean sheet, the point and the mentality the players showed today. It was a great point and a really good night for us.”
“Six minutes into stoppage time, we didn’t know where it was coming from! Then the game was over and they didn’t give us many free kicks. We had a few yellow cards as well, but I wonder why we will be without Ethan Ampadu, a key player, for the next game.”
“The atmosphere in the dressing room at that time was second to none. We were solid and united as a team. A lot of credit goes to my team and the players.”
