Mohamed Salah being benched for a third league game in a row headlined the pre-match news for this clash, but they looked to be doing just fine without him in the opening stages.
The Reds started on the front foot and came within a lick of paint of taking the lead inside the opening 15 minutes when Curtis Jones curled a delightful effort against the crossbar.
Daniel Farke’s decision to feel the five-man defence was perhaps no surprise given Liverpool‘s historical struggles against the back fives, but with Leeds focused solely on defending in the opening stages, his side offered precious little by way of attacking intent.
Slot’s men dominated for most of the first half, but they were facing similar issues to those they’ve faced in almost all of their recent games – they simply couldn’t create chances.
That was leaving the door gently ajar for Leeds, but their chances of finding an opener were being stifled by having seven defensive-minded outfield players on the pitch, which left both managers with plenty to ponder at half-time, especially given both went into the break without mustering a single shot on target.
Neither Farke nor Slot elected to shuffle the pack, and the Liverpool boss’ call paid dividends within the opening five minutes when a loose pass sent Hugo Ekitike racing through on goal, allowing the forward to capitalise and find the bottom corner.
The Frenchman doubled his tally for the evening just two minutes later, reacting quickest inside the area to pounce on Conor Bradley’s delivery and turn home Liverpool’s second goal to leave Leeds with a mountain to climb.
However, they were given a huge leg up 20 minutes from time when Ibrahima Konate’s moment of madness inside the area on Wilfried Gnonto was punished with a penalty after Anthony Taylor consulted the pitchside monitor.
Dominic Calvert-Lewinb shouldered the responsibility from the spot and – for the second weekend running – scored against one of the traditional big six.
Remarkably, just two minutes later, Leeds clawed themselves back onto level terms as Anton Stach cut in off the left and hammered home an equaliser at the near post.
Most inside Elland Road expected Leeds to kick on at that point, but they were hit with a suckerpunch when a clever Alexis Mac Allister dummy saw the ball fall perfectly for Dominik Szoboszlai, who stepped into the area and found the bottom corner.
Farke’s men continued to probe for another leveller in the closing stages, and succeeded where they failed against Manchester City last weekend, with Ao Tanaka popping up at the far post in the 96th minute to hammer home a late leveller, which leaves Slot fighting for his job and Leeds a point closer to safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)