Jesse Marsch identifies near-miss that inspired Leeds to win at Liverpool

Crysencio Summerville’s late winner gave Leeds their first victory at Anfield for 21 years

(AFP via Getty Images)

Jesse Marsch believes he learnt from the experience of a near-miss with RB Salzburg to deliver the special performance that brought Leeds their first win at Anfield in 21 years.

Rodrigo and Crysencio Summerville got the goals to earn Leeds, who had lost their previous four matches, a 2-1 victory over Liverpool that Marsch called “almost inconceivable”.

Marsch was delighted with the bravery his side showed after two youngsters, Wilfried Gnonto and Summerville, and two of his substitutes, Gnonto and Patrick Bamford, played parts in the winner.

The American was in charge of a Salzburg team including Erling Haaland who mounted a comeback before losing 4-3 at Anfield in 2019 and said: “It’s probably the second time for me.

“I was here with Salzburg, we went down 3-0, came back 3-3, and we didn’t find a way to get the result. And I used a little bit of that experience with the group today to say to them: ‘Anfield is a special place’.

“And it requires a special performance to put yourself in a position to think about getting a result. We did that. We felt last week [in the defeat to Fulham], at 1-1, we were waiting to lose but today we stood tall, played strong and were stable and found a way to win.

“We put young players on the pitch. We were talking about 100 different substitution patterns and ideas. I thought the subs were good and we were able to push and find a win.”

Leeds’ poor run led some of their fans to turn on Marsch but he had believed they were a better team than the league table suggested.

He explained: “For us, we should not be in this position, we should not be suffering the way we are. But we haven’t found ways to reward ourselves. So I’ve has to stay patient and I’ve had to show belief and we needed a moment in our season to stop the bleeding and to get it here is almost inconceivable.”