Jürgen Klopp delighted with the way Liverpool came through a hectic start to hammer Leeds United

With each goal scored, Liverpool's grip on the game - and an increasingly hopeless-looking Leeds side - tightened.

But with United pressing from the word 'go', the Reds took time to settle in at the start of the contest.

Whites winger Dan James fired a warning shot with the first big chance of the game in the sixth minute. Hounding down Alisson, James prised the ball from beneath the 'keeper's feet, forcing Joël Matip to clear the ball, saving the Brazilian's blushes and helping his team survive an early scare.

Klopp was impressed with his players' response to the visitors' aggressive start to the game.

"Leeds play so differently to all other teams and we had only one session to prepare for it, so we needed the first fifteen minutes to get used to it," Klopp said.

"It was a hectic start to the game but we found our feet and really calmed the game down - our positioning, movement, passing got better.

"We scored goals, forced penalties."

Two Mo Salah penalties and a goal scored by centre-back Matip sent Liverpool into the break with a three-goal lead.

After trailing 2-0 Manchester United at half-time on Sunday, Leeds quickly pulled themselves back to level terms - Klopp didn't forget, and was glad his side could buck the trend.

"Leeds is famous for big comebacks like at Aston Villa or whatever," he said.

"They had their moments at the start of the second half but we controlled it.

"The longer the game went on, the better we used the size of the pitch.

"It’s really tricky to win all these one-to-one battles, then we scored really nice goals and could have scored even more.

"I'm very happy with the performance."

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