Liverpool came from behind at Elland Road to remain top of the First Division. Phil Boersma supplied the winning goal, having already helped create the equaliser.
The 2–1 victory on 30 September 1972 followed a 5–0 home win against Sheffield United. Leeds presented a different assignment: Liverpool had to recover an away deficit against Don Revie’s side.
Mick Jones gave Leeds the lead after half an hour. Larry Lloyd equalised ten minutes later, with Boersma credited with the assist, and the teams reached the interval at 1–1.
Boersma then scored in the sixty-fifth minute. Liverpool protected the advantage for the remainder of the game and left Elland Road with both points.
Bill Shankly’s starting side included Trevor Storton, with Emlyn Hughes captaining the team in Tommy Smith’s absence. Boersma was again in the attack alongside Kevin Keegan and Steve Heighway.
Leeds had entered the match after a sequence of home wins, including league victories over Southampton, Norwich and Leicester. Their line-up contained Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles, Norman Hunter and Jack Charlton, as well as Jones and Allan Clarke.
Beating that side away was a substantial result for Liverpool. After eleven matches they had sixteen points, level with Arsenal but ahead on goal average and with a game in hand.
Boersma’s contribution deserves its own place in the account of the championship season. He was not a permanent first-choice player, but the club records seven league goals from him during 1972–73, alongside four in the UEFA Cup.
At Elland Road his involvement had been decisive twice. Liverpool’s centre-half supplied the equaliser from his assist, then Boersma scored the goal that completed the recovery. A home victory over Sheffield United had taken Liverpool top; an away victory over Leeds kept them there.