Liverpool hit Leeds for six to close gap on City

LIVERPOOL, England :Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane scored twice each as Liverpool crushed Leeds United 6-0 on Wednesday to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to three points.

City's surprise home loss to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend ignited hopes of another exhilarating title race if Liverpool won their game in hand against Leeds, and that never looked in doubt.

After taking a 15th-minute lead through Salah's penalty, the title chasers were unrelenting, as Joel Matip's first league goal of the season and another Salah spot-kick effectively put the game to bed before the interval.

Salah was again instrumental in the move that led to Mane slotting home the fourth 10 minutes from time, before the Senegalese forward added his second in the 90th minute.

Virgil van Dijk headed home the sixth in stoppage time to complete the perfect evening for Klopp's men and send a real message of intent to City.

The victory, Liverpool's ninth in a row in all competitions, moved them on to 60 points from 26 matches, three behind the champions - the closest they have been to them since Christmas Day.

"I think for people outside it is better to have three or six-point gap than to have a 20 or 30-point gap, so it is more exciting," Klopp told the BBC.

"But we have to win a lot of the games against all the difficult opponents and that will be a tricky task. We will give it a try."

Leeds slipped further into the relegation battle, remaining 15th and only three points clear of the bottom three.

Coming into the match, Leeds had conceded at least twice in each of their last five away league games, having also shipped four at home to Manchester United on Sunday.

It did not take them long to concede at Anfield under the lights, with