Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane score brace each as Liverpool thrash Leeds to close gap on Man City

• Liverpool ran riot against Leeds United as Salah and Mane both scored braces in a 6-0 rout
• Jurgen Klopp’s men move to within three points of Manchester City as they look to wrestle the league leaders for the Premier League title
• Thanks to the emphatic, win, the Reds now have a far more superior goal difference than Manchester City

Liverpool closed the gap on Manchester City to three points in the Premier League thanks to an emphatic 6-0 win over Leeds United on Wednesday, February 23.

In a game that was bound to have goals, Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane both scored twice as defender Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk rounded off a perfect night for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

How it happened

Going into the game, Liverpool knew all too well the task at hand, but few would have predicted the 2020 Premier League Champions would have made light work of their opponents.

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Marcelo Bielsa’s men started the game very positively as they tried to exploit Liverpool’s very high line.

But things went south for the visitors after a handball by Stuart Dallas saw referee Michael Oliver point to the spot and Salah made no mistake from 12 yards.

Joel Matip then doubled the lead with a neat finish at the half hour mark, before the Egyptian grabbed his brace five minutes later from the penalty spot again after Mane was fouled by Luke Ayling.

In truth, Salah should have had a hat trick but the Egyptian missed a host of chances throughout the game, but that counted for very little as he continues his quest for another golden boot.

Mane, who was playing through the middle with Salah and January signing Luis Diaz on either side of him, made it four from an assist by Jordan Henderson and the Senegal international also completed his brace late on when he found himself unmarked on the edge of the six-yard area.

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Van Dijk completed the rout with a header in added time to ensure the victory as Leeds’ struggles without their stars Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford continued.

Title race well on

The result was a huge statement from Liverpool, who now close the gap to Manchester City to just three points.

Winning 6-0 ensured Liverpool have a far superior goal difference to City, who they are due to meet at the Etihad on April 9.