Ao Tanaka was the hero for Leeds against Liverpool.
The Japan international popped up at the back post to prod the ball past Alisson and secure a 3-3 draw in the 96th minute, moving Leeds three points clear of the relegation zone.
Before Ao Tanaka saved Leeds – however – Daniel Farke was left “furious” with the man from Kawasaki.
Daniel Farke points the finger at Ao Tanaka for Dominik Szoboszlai’s goal
Liverpool appeared to have done exactly what Phil Foden did last week in making sure a fightback from 2-0 down meant nothing for Leeds, when Dominik Szoboszlai struck in the 80th minute.
Who was YOUR Leeds United Man of the Match against Liverpool?
Fortunately, it was Tanaka who equalised, as Farke was “furious” with the Leeds No.22 for “opening” the defensive block to allow the Hungary international to net a third for Liverpool.
The Yorkshire Evening Post quote the German as saying: “Very happy of course, all the credit goes to the boys. We got so much praise for our different formation but at 2-0 down we wanted to change the challenge for Liverpool. We wanted mobile wingers, sometimes wide, sometimes in the pocket and to press in a different way.
“The lads executed in a brilliant way, assist for Willy, assist for Brenden, Ao with an equaliser – after I was a bit furious with him for opening our block [for the third Liverpool goal]. Sebastiaan Bornauw, we wanted to create a bit of chaos, playing as a right-back without the ball and a striker with it. We needed to change something. It caught Liverpool a bit by surprise and we were able to create a few more set-pieces and could use one to equalise. After this exhausting week, to change base formation and it works, it’s amazing.”
The 27-year-old needs to be more alert at times, but he more than redeemed himself with his excellent finish to salvage a point.
Daniel Farke was also furious with Ao Tanaka during Leeds United 3-1 Chelsea
The 49-year-old clearly has high standards for the Japanese maestro, as this is the second time this week he opted to call him out in the media.
Does Daniel Farke get the credit he deserves? 🤔
The Leeds manager changed the game against Liverpool with his subs
Farke also criticised Tanaka after the 3-1 win over Chelsea for missing a number of glorious chances, before he rifled a rocket of a strike past Robert Sanchez to silence both the Blues and his own boss.
Farke said: “Even before he was there with three or four situations close to the box, he was not there with a good decision. I was actually a bit furious, but he calmed me down with this excellent strike.”
Tanaka is quite clearly very good at redeeming himself after irking the Leeds boss, it seems.
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