6 - Only a couple of saves to make, one of which he made a bit of a meal of. Kicking was hit and miss. Managed to eat up plenty of time. Dealt with crosses.placeholder image
6 - Only a couple of saves to make, one of which he made a bit of a meal of. Kicking was hit and miss. Managed to eat up plenty of time. Dealt with crosses. | Getty Images

Graham Smyth's Leeds United player ratings vs Liverpool with standout 9/10, defensive 8s and a 2

Graham Smyth
By Graham Smyth

Chief football writer

Published 1st Jan 2026, 19:38 GMT

Leeds United and Liverpool shared the spoils for the second time in three weeks at Anfield on New Year’s Day.

Leeds United produced a magnificent defensive performance to keep Liverpool at bay and earn a 0-0 draw on Thursday. A slightly rotated whites outfit stood tall against the reigning Premier League champions to extend their unbeaten run to six games.

Leeds didn’t offer much going forward in the first-half but defended well, with chances few and far between. Hugo Ekitike had the hosts’ best opportunity, his close-range header eventually bouncing off Lucas Perri’s head, while Ethan Ampadu tested Alisson with a long-distance effort following a mistake from the goalkeeper.

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Much of the second-half played out in similar fashion, with Leeds happy to defend and Liverpool struggling to create anything of note despite their dominance of possession. Farke’s side were pinned back a little more going into the closing stages but kept it tight, with an outstanding defensive performance earning them a point.

YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth was at Anfield to watch the action. Here are his Leeds United player ratings...

7 - Recovered from a shaky start and a couple of loose touches. Dug in to help keep Liverpool out. Took a risk with the handball but can consider himself unlucky to get a card.

7. CM: Ethan Ampadu

7 - Recovered from a shaky start and a couple of loose touches. Dug in to help keep Liverpool out. Took a risk with the handball but can consider himself unlucky to get a card. | Getty Images

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8 - Wayward with a couple of passes but was responsible for so many more tidy moments. Nipped in to break up attacks. Took Leeds forward when he could. Created a late chance.

8. CM: Ilia Gruev

8 - Wayward with a couple of passes but was responsible for so many more tidy moments. Nipped in to break up attacks. Took Leeds forward when he could. Created a late chance. | Getty Images

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6 - Flitted in and out of the game. There were a few tidy bits of play and lots of running but couldn't impact it the way he wanted to.

9. CM: Anton Stach

6 - Flitted in and out of the game. There were a few tidy bits of play and lots of running but couldn't impact it the way he wanted to. | Getty Images

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6 - Responsible for a huge shift against the ball to try and contain Liverpool. On the ball he was unable to give the Whites a huge deal.

10. ST: Brenden Aaronson

6 - Responsible for a huge shift against the ball to try and contain Liverpool. On the ball he was unable to give the Whites a huge deal. | Getty Images

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6 - Put in the hard yards but couldn't give Leeds a platform. Beaten in the air a lot. Won a couple of free-kicks.

11. ST: Lukas Nmecha

6 - Put in the hard yards but couldn't give Leeds a platform. Beaten in the air a lot. Won a couple of free-kicks. | Getty Images

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7 - His presence unnerved Liverpool and helped get Leeds up the pitch in the final 20 minutes.

12. Sub: Dominic Calvert-Lewin

7 - His presence unnerved Liverpool and helped get Leeds up the pitch in the final 20 minutes. | Getty Images

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