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#3 Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has been firing on all cylinders since the start of the season. Last night, he once again put in a sure-footed performance, proving why he’s regarded as one of the best defenders in the world.
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In Daniel James, Van Dijk did not exactly have a potent aerial threat, but his pace could’ve easily caused the Dutchman some problems. Thankfully, the Liverpool star was always on his toes, rarely letting James drift out of his sight.
Over the course of the match, the former Southampton player performed two clearances, made three interceptions, and won all three of his duels. He also provided five long balls and made 85 passes, achieving 87.6 percent accuracy.
His most rewarding moment of the match came three minutes into added time when he thumped home Andy Robertson’s corner.
Unmarked, Van Dijk rose free inside the Whites’ box and powered his header past a helpless Meslier.
#2 Sadio Mane
Jurgen Klopp deployed Mane in a more central role on Saturday but gave him the freedom to roam about. The Senegalese drifted into the left-hand channel more often than not and combined effortlessly with Luis Diaz.
Unlike Salah, who was at his best in the first half, Mane took a little time to get going. Yes, he did win a penalty for his Egyptian teammate in the 35th minute, but that was pretty much his highlight of the opening half.
The AFCON winner continued to help his team at the back in the second half and was finally rewarded for it in the final stretch. In the 80th minute, Mane thumped home from close range after latching on to Jordan Henderson’s pass across the Leeds goal.
Ten minutes later, he doubled his tally, turning in Divock Origi’s rebound. The Belgian’s attempt was saved by Meslier, but the keeper could not parry it out of danger. Mane was the quickest to react and scored Liverpool’s fifth goal with a left-footed drive.
#1 Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian once again stepped up to the plate for Liverpool to help them to a commanding victory. Mohamed Salah used his pace brilliantly, dribbled like there’s no tomorrow, and directly contributed to the Reds’ three first-half goals.
In the 15th minute, Robertson’s cross struck Dallas’ hand inside Leeds’ penalty box, which saw the referee point straight to the spot. Salah took the resultant penalty and slotted it into the bottom-right corner to give the home side the lead.
Fifteen minutes later, Matip carried the ball from deep and fed it to Salah. The Egypt international picked out Matip, who continued his run with an inch-perfect pass into the box. The centre-back took care of the rest with a sumptuous finish.
Ten minutes before halftime, Mane was brought down inside the visitors’ box and the referee pointed to the spot for the second time on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old once again took the penalty and, this time, found the top-right corner with aplomb. The double took the Premier League leading scorer’s goal tally to 19 for the season, putting him seven goals clear of second-placed Diogo Jota.
