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Liverpool beat Leeds United 6-1 at Elland Road in the Premier League on Monday, April 17, to end their four-game winless run in the competition.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring for the Reds in the 35th minute before Mohamed Salah made it 2-0 soon after as the Peacocks were staring at another home defeat.
Just minutes into the second-half, a mistake from Ibrahima Konate allowed Luis Sinisterra to pull one back for Javi Garcia's side and it seemed like a comeback could be on the cards.
However, all such notions were quickly dismissed as Diogo Jota made it 3-1 in the 52nd minute before Salah bagged his second of the night from a wonderful counter-attacking move.
Jota also completed his brace with an emphatic finish midway through the second-half, while Darwin Nunez came off the bench to add gloss to the scoreline with a sixth in the 90th minute.
This was the third time this season that Liverpool have scored six goals or more in a league game, while Leeds United suffered back-to-back humiliations at home.
Here are the major talking points from the match:
#5 Luis Diaz returns to action in a welcome sight for Liverpool fans
After six months out with a serious knee injury, Luis Diaz returned to the field for Liverpool on Monday. Although he couldn't mark the occasion with a goal contribution, the Colombian's sighting was certainly a welcome one for the club's supporters.
In their 3-2 loss against Arsenal back in October, Diaz went off with an injury which later proved to be extremely serious as the 26-year-old was in rehabilitation for months.
On Monday night, he finally made his first appearance since the injury, coming off the bench in the 81st minute for Cody Gakpo. His return provides a boost for Klopp in terms of attacking options for the home stretch of their campaign.
#4 Diogo Jota ends year-long drought
Another player who gave Liverpool fans a reason to cheer was Diogo Jota, who ended his year-long drought to net twice at Elland Road. The Portuguese forward somehow lost his scoring touch after last April's 2-2 draw with Manchester City, but no one predicted it would last for 12 months.
Although he has missed a few games with injuries this season, Jota has never looked entirely comfortable in any of his appearances this season. The 26-year-old must be happy to finally open his account for the campaign. He broke his duck in the 52nd minute of the game, producing a nice first-time shot beyond the on-rushing Illan Meslier before bringing up his brace with another superb finish.
Liverpool fans will hope Jota continues in the same vein for the remainder of their season as the club aims to finish their topsy-turvy campaign on a high.
#3 Leeds United create unwanted history
Having lost 5-1 to Crystal Palace in their previous match, Leeds United have conceded five goals in consecutive home league games for the first time in their history.
Much like in their performance against the Eagles, the Yorkshire outfit were completely torn apart at the back, displaying utter incompetence as Liverpool ran riot.
Their biggest weakness tonight was perhaps their inability to defend on the break, with Jurgen Klopp's team constantly exposing them in counter-attacking situations with swift passing and positional interchanges.
The ease with which Liverpool created chances on the night displayed the grave ineptitude of Leeds, although it's not surprising considering they'd shipped in 54 goals before this fixture.
The 6-1 loss was also Leeds' heaviest defeat at home in the Premier League, surpassing the previous record in a matter of days.
#2 Trent Alexander-Arnold could become a midfield legend
Having already established a legendary status in the right-back position, Trent Alexander-Arnold could be out to conquer another position, central midfield, where he's been deployed for the last two games.
On Monday night, he turned back the calendar with a vintage display, capped off with two fine assists. The first was a nice low-cross for Gakpo following a wonderful one-two with Salah. The second assist was a spectacular over-the-top through ball for Darwin Nunez.
Alexander-Arnold completed 124 passes and made 18 recoveries on the night. The 24-year-old was key to building attacks for Liverpool and winning back possession as Leeds had no answer to him.
Klopp's experiment of playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield is clearly paying off and he could contemplate making the switch a permanent one.
#1 Mohamed Salah comes back to haunt Leeds United
There's something about Leeds United that brings the best out of Mohamed Salah, who has now scored in five of their six clashes since the Peacocks got promoted to the Premier League in 2020.
Salah memorably scored a hat-trick in the first of those encounters on the opening day of the 2020-21 season, and has since added six more goals to make it nine against the Peacocks.
Tonight, the Egyptian ace first scored a superb close-range strike with great power and then brought up his brace with a lovely curled finish to finish off a devastating counter-attacking move.
Salah has scored more goals against only Manchester United (12), Manchester City (11) and Tottenham Hotspur (10) in his career as Leeds must be sick of the sight of him by now.
