Reid fails to find instant cure for Leeds' sickness

Liverpool 3 Leeds United 1

They defended gutlessly, their forward line was a picture of impotence and his own supporters were demanding boardroom sackings; for half an hour Peter Reid might have wondered if had ever really left Sunderland.

Curiously, like his last match in charge of the Wearsiders, at Highbury in October, Reid lost the game 3-1, ultimately beaten by a side who boasted vastly superior resources. After that ghastly opening 30 minutes, in which by Gérard Houllier's reckoning Liverpool might have scored any number of times, Leeds recovered enough to suggest they might force a draw, hopes which were extinguished when Michael Owen wriggled past Teddy Lucic to deliver a perfect cross for Steven Gerrard in the 72nd minute.

Had Terry Venables not been sacked, he would undoubtedly have based his analysis on the 60 minutes in which Leeds were not a shambles and suggested better times were imminent. Reid is cut from a very different, more honest, cloth.

"A lot has been said about the finances affecting the players, but I don't hold with that," Leeds' temporary manager said. "They are paid to play football and whatever goes on in the boardroom is nothing to do with them. There are a lot of internationals in that dressing-room and they are feeling sorry for themselves. They are good players who have not been doing themselves justice."

Peter Ridsdale would agree with that. The Leeds chairman shouted instructions to his players, implored them to perform and was generally more animated than his manager. He wants Leeds fans to know he cares but those in the Anfield Road End who passed around a banner that condemned him as a "Twister" care only that he resign.

The former manager may have been fatally undermined by his chairman's dealings but, if you were asked to nominate the feeblest performers on the pitch, they would have been those brought to Yorkshire by Venables. Nick Barmby and Raul Bravo, who defended catastrophically, were hauled off at half-time while Paul Okon also failed to last the distance. Ian Harte at least halted El-Hadji Diouf's rampage down the right flank, which had caved in for both Liverpool's first-half goals.

Owen was the instrument of Leeds' downfall. After controlling a long ball beautifully; he laid it off to Diouf and was on hand to deal with the ricochet when the Senegalese's cross struck Bravo. Liverpool's second, six minutes later, demonstrated how far Leeds had abandoned the basics of defending. Thinking referee Andy D'Urso would blow for a free-kick for his foul on John Arne Riise, Danny Mills booted the ball aimlessly to Danny Murphy while the rest of his back four stopped playing. Murphy had already gone very close with a long-range shot and this time he did not miss.

Gradually, however, Liverpool loosened their grip and became infected by carelessness. Emile Heskey kept shooting ridiculously wide and, just before half-time, Jason Wilcox seized on a casual clearance by Riise and crossed it on the volley for Mark Viduka. Jerzy Dudek blocked his first effort but not the second.

This is a time of year which suits Liverpool and, after three successive wins, Houllier senses the kind of momentum that drove them to third and second-placed finish in recent seasons. Then, a 3-1 win over Leeds would have appeared a grand statement of intent. Now it is merely routine.

Goals: Owen (14) 1-0; Murphy (20) 2-0; Viduka (44) 2-1; Gerrard (72) 3-1.

Liverpool (4-4-2): Dudek 6, Carragher 6, Traoré 5, Hyypia 6, Diouf 6, Gerrard 7, Hamann 5 (Diao, 78), Murphy 8, Heskey 3 (Baros, 78), Owen 8. Substitutes not used: Smicer, Biscan, Arphexad (gk).

Leeds United (4-4-2): Robinson 6, Mills 5, Radebe 7, Lucic 4, Bravo 2 (Harte 6, h-t), Barmby 3 (Milner 6, h-t), Bakke 5, Okon 4 (McMaster 6, 75), Wilcox 5, Smith 5, Viduka 7. Substitutes not used: Batty, Martyn (gk).

Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay) 6.

Booking: Leeds: Bakke.

Man of the match: Owen.

Attendance: 43,021.