Liverpool’s woes deepened as Arne Slot’s side surrendered a two-goal cushion to draw 3–3 with Leeds United, squandering the opportunity to pull level with fourth-placed Chelsea and piling further pressure on their under-fire manager.

Much of the pre-match focus centred on Mohamed Salah, left on the bench for a third straight league match. Yet Liverpool initially coped well without their talisman. They started brightly, and Curtis Jones came agonisingly close to an opener inside a quarter of an hour, curling a superb strike onto the crossbar.

With Daniel Farke setting up in a defensive five-man system — a strategy that has historically troubled Liverpool — Leeds spent the opening stages almost entirely inside their own half, offering next to nothing going forward. Slot’s men dominated territory and possession but were once again hindered by familiar shortcomings in the final third, struggling to turn control into clear chances.

The stalemate at halftime reflected the lack of cutting edge from either side — neither team had registered a shot on target by the break — leaving both managers with significant tactical puzzles to solve.

Slot opted for patience rather than changes, and that faith paid off swiftly. A poor Leeds pass gifted Hugo Ekitike a one-on-one within minutes of the restart, and the French striker calmly slotted into the bottom corner. Just moments later, he was at it again, reacting quickest to Conor Bradley’s whipped delivery and turning home his second to put Liverpool 2–0 up and seemingly in command.

But a lifeline arrived for the hosts 20 minutes from time when Ibrahima Konaté clattered into Wilfried Gnonto inside the box. After a VAR check, a penalty was awarded, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin — scoring for the second successive weekend against a top-six side — converted to give Leeds hope.

That hope became full-blown belief almost instantly. Two minutes later, Anton Stach cut inside from the left and lashed a fierce effort inside the near post to haul Leeds level and send Elland Road into bedlam.

Liverpool appeared to steady themselves and landed what looked like the decisive blow when Alexis Mac Allister cleverly dummied a pass to allow Dominik Szoboszlai through. The Hungarian drove into the area and buried a low strike to restore the visitors’ advantage.

Yet Leeds refused to fold. They kept pushing deep into stoppage time — and were rewarded in the 96th minute. Ao Tanaka arrived unmarked at the back post to smash home a dramatic equaliser, sparking wild celebrations and leaving Liverpool ruing another game thrown away.

The result edges Leeds closer to safety, while Slot is left facing serious scrutiny as Liverpool’s season continues to stall.