Liverpool hit Leeds for six after controversial Gakpo opener

LEEDS: Liverpool crushed Leeds 6-1 as Cody Gakpo’s controversial opener provided the spark for the Reds’ first win in five Premier League games on Monday.

Jurgen Klopp’s side took the lead at Elland Road when Gakpo’s goal was allowed to stand despite the ball striking Trent Alexander-Arnold’s arm in the buildup.

It was reported the VAR official did not check the incident because it happened too far back in the move, but Leeds were furious at the perceived injustice.

Mohamed Salah rubbed salt into Leeds’ wounds when he increased Liverpool’s lead four minutes later before Luis Sinisterra got one back for the struggling hosts.

Diogo Jota’s double, another Salah strike and Darwin Nunez’s late effort ensured Liverpool ended their five-game winless run in all competitions.

After coming within a whisker of winning a quadruple last season, Liverpool have been reduced to scrambling to reach next season’s Europa League or Europa Conference League, with the Champions League seemingly out of reach.

With that target in mind, the eighth-placed Reds are now within two points of seventh-placed Brighton.

Klopp has compared fan criticism of Liverpool potentially not making big-money transfers in the coming close-season as like a five-year-old asking for a Ferrari for Christmas.

But on the evidence of this composed display and the recent fightback from two goals down to draw 2-2 with leaders Arsenal, Liverpool still have the foundations in place for a return to prominence next term.

Leeds crumbled again eight days after their 5-1 home defeat against Crystal Palace and sit just two points above the relegation zone with seven games left.

Javi Gracia’s team were booed off after becoming only the second club to concede five or more