Liverpool beat Leeds 4-3 in thrilling start to title defence

Mohamed Salah scored a hat-trick as Liverpool saw off three fightbacks from Leeds to begin their defence of the Premier League with a thrilling 4-3 win at Anfield.

Leeds' return to the English top-flight under Marcelo Bielsa after a 16-year absence was highly anticipated and a clash against the reigning champions lived up to expectations as three times they equalised through Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford and Mateusz Klich to cancel out Salah's first-half double and Virgil van Dijk's header.

However, Salah's second penalty of the game two minutes from time ensured Liverpool got off to a winning start.

Leeds United's English striker Patrick Bamford (C) chips the ball over Liverpool's Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker (L) to score
Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk (2nd R) jumps to head the ball to score his team's second goal
Leeds United's Portuguese midfielder Helder Costa (C) controls the ball during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Leeds United
Liverpool's Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring their third goal