Leicester City travelled to Anfield to take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool with the hope of securing a result away from home. The Foxes were confident about their chances with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez in such a rich vein of form going forward. They deployed a 4-4-1-1 formation against the Reds and got off to a dream start when Vardy scored the opening goal of the contest in the 2nd minute. The Foxes defended well and put up some strong resistance to deny Liverpool a goal before half-time.
The Leicester resistance was finally broken in the second half when Mohamad Salah scored after a clever backheel from Sadio Mane. The Reds continued to threaten after the equaliser and finally found the winner through their player of the campaign, Salah once again in the 76th minute. The Foxes tried to threaten and created a few late chances but couldn’t manage to find a goal. Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners on the day with Leicester players left to ponder on what could have been.
Let’s shed some light on how each Leicester City player fared in the match.
GK: Kasper Schmeichel – 8/10
One of the main reasons why Leicester was so good at Anfield. He was his team’s best player and looked unbeatable at times.
RB: Daniel Amartey – 6/10
He had a strong game at right-back for Leicester and was unlucky to end up on the losing team.
CB: Wes Morgan – 6/10
He quietly commanded the Foxes’ defence and made some good clearances to keep the Liverpool attackers at bay in the first half.
CB: Harry Maguire – 5/10
Not the best game from the promising Leicester defender. He was at fault for both of Salah’s goals but it is easier said than done to stop the Egyptian when he’s in such great form. He did well to provide support in the opposition half at times.
LB: Christian Fuchs – 7/10
One of the most impressive players on the pitch, he put in a strong performance at left-back and was always a threat with his long throw-ins.
CM: Wilfred Ndidi – 6/10
He tried his best to stop the rampant Liverpool midfield and succeeded to keep them quiet in the first half. However, his influence faded as the match went on.
CM: Vicente Iborra – 6/10
Similar to Ndidi, he was strong in the first half but faded as the match went on.
LM: Marc Albrighton – 7/10
He put in a tireless shift on the left flank and defended brilliantly when called upon. He was also superb to join in on the attack when the Foxes needed an outlet on the left side of the midfield.
RM: Riyad Mahrez – 6/10
He kept his usual calm during Leicester’s opening goal and bagged a handy assist at Anfield. However, he struggled to cope with the game as the match progressed and was lazy while defending his goal.
CAM: Demarai Gray – 6/10
He was a threat on the break in the first half but his influence faded when Liverpool scored their equaliser after the break.
ST: Jamie Vardy – 7/10
The English forward scored the opening goal which could have caused an upset. He worked hard to run the channels but couldn’t manage to score the second goal which the Foxes desperately needed to put some daylight in the contest.
Substitutes:
ST: Shinji Okazaki – 6/10
The Japanese international was a threat but his goal-bound shot deflected wide.
ST: Islam Slimani – 6/10
He didn’t do much in the attacking third but had very little time to make an impact.
RM: Matthew James – 5/10
He got a golden chance on the break after being subbed on but his final ball let the Foxes down as it had way too much power for Slimani to unleash a strike on goal.
