"Wired" - Ilia Gruev on impact of Leeds United changes in impressive Whites verdict and Liverpool declaration

Ilia Gruev has saluted the execution of Leeds United’s plan for their goalless draw at Anfield and pinpointed the Whites difference to the 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture against the Reds.

Bulgarian international midfielder Gruev was brought into the Leeds team for the New Year’s Day clash at Anfield as one of four changes made by boss Daniel Farke to his side.

Gruev, James Justin, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Lukas Nmecha all came into the XI as the two teams met for the second time in less than four weeks following the 3-3 draw at Elland Road at the start of December.

A very different contest this time saw Leeds leave with a goalless draw which Gruev saluted as an “impressive” away performance as he highlighted the differences to the six-goal thriller at LS11.

“Really impressive”

The Bulgarian also said his side specifically tried to distance themselves from any signs of frustration with the home crowd.

Speaking post match to Sky Sports, Gruev said: "I think we as the players we tried to abstract from the fans.

"It's not always easy but we tried and I think how we acted as a group and as a collective was really impressive and a really good away game at Anfield."

Pressed on how different the game was to the 3-3 draw at Elland Road, Gruev said: “I think it was a different game, especially the second half at home was much more wired because they scored two out of our mistakes.

"Today we were much more aggressive and we were compact and we didn't allow a lot of chances I would say.

"It was a really good away game from us but a very different game compared to Elland Road."