It wasn't pretty but, Liverpool won on Friday night. The Reds bested Leicester City by the score of 2-1 in front of an energised crowd at Anfield. The win is the fourth in a row in the EPL for Liverpool and gets them up to 28 points on the season.
It was very much a match where the score didn't tell the whole story. Liverpool players didn't manage to score any goals and yet they still won the match 2-1. Both Reds goals came courtesy of Leicester City defender Wout Faes. Faes' 2 own goals in the first half would be enough to secure the 3 points for Liverpool.
The Reds remain in 6th place in the Premier League after the win. The good news is, they are now only 1 point behind Manchester United for 5th. Of course, that could all change tomorrow with the full slate of Premier League games to be played.
First Half
Liverpool didn't do themselves any favours by how they started this game. Once again, the Reds conceded an early goal to the opposition. This time it was Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who punished a porous Liverpool defence. The Leicester City forward scored an all-too-easy goal in the 4th minute.
Dewsbury-Hall sliced through the Liverpool defence, blowing past both Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk. He then slotted the ball past Alisson to the left to give the Foxes a 1-0 lead.
The Reds would chase the game for much of the first half hour. Liverpool looked a bit tentative, especially on the defensive side of things. It's a good thing that Leicester City would be in a giving mood just a few minutes later.
Leicester City defender Wout Faes would play the role of Santa for all the good Liverpool boys and girls in the dying minutes of the first half. The Belgian defender would put two goals into his own net before the half was over.
The first one, in the 38th minute, came off a relatively unimpressive Trent Alexander-Arnold cross. Faes could have left it for his goalkeeper Danny Ward, instead, he stuck out his leg and the ball looped into the net from his deflection.
Then in the 45th minute, Darwin Núñez would charge down the left side and chip the ball over Ward. The ball would hit off the right post, and for a split second, Liverpool missed taking the lead. But it was Faes to the rescue as he would clatter the ball into the back of the net instead of clearing it off the line.
It is only the 4th time in Premier League history that one player would score 2 own goals in the same match. Liverpool would go into the half up 2-1, instead of being behind 1-0 thanks to Faes' giving spirit.
Second Half
While there were no goals in the second half, it doesn't mean the teams didn't try. Both sides traded opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the half but neither found the back of the net. Mohamed Salah came closest but shot the ball wide to the left.
The Reds would have another golden opportunity in the 78th minute. Darwin Núñez would take a shot that seemed destined for the back of the net. However, the ball rose just a little too much and ended up screaming into the KOP end instead.
Perhaps the most important thing to happen in the second half was Andy Robertson appearing to be injured around the hour mark. The Scottish defender pulled up favouring his leg and Jürgen Klopp subbed on Kostas Tsimikas in the 62nd minute. The commentators mentioned that it was some kind of hip injury just after the substitution.
Liverpool would buckle down on the defensive side of things. Alisson needed to make one good save off the foot of Harvey Barnes. Barnes would also rattle a shot off the crossbar late in the second half.
LFC Globe Verdict
Leicester City are very generous gift givers. We will be sure to invite the Foxes to our next holiday party if they are going to gift wrap 2 big goals and 3 even bigger points. All kidding aside, this wasn't Liverpool's best effort this season but, 3 points are 3 points.
The Reds should be commended for making do with what they had on the attack in a short turned around from the Boxing Day match. They had a relatively short bench with Fabinho not being available due to a family issue.
After the Dewsbury-Hall goal in the opening minutes, the defence was quite good the rest of the way. Including Alexander-Arnold who made some excellent clearances in the 2nd half when the Foxes were trying their hardest to tie the game up.
Man of the Match and What's Next
In reality, the Man of the Match is Wout Faes. The double own-goal performance will go down in history as one of the great Liverpool moments of 2022. However, the Man of the Match for Liverpool has to go to Darwin Núñez.
Even though Núñez failed to score, again, he was dangerous all night. His speed was evident every time he was on the ball. And it was his chip shot off the post that Faes clattered into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
Next up for Liverpool is a match in London against Brentford on Monday. The kick-off is scheduled at 17:30 GMT from Brentford Community Stadium. With Cody Gakpo being in attendance at tonight's match as a spectator, could the Dutchman make his debut?
Goals
Liverpool
- Faes (OG) 38'
- Faes (OG) 45'
Leicester City
- Dewsbury-Hall 4'
Substitutes
Liverpool
- Tsimikas for Robertson 62'
- Keita for Oxlade-Chamberlain 62'
- Gomez for Alexander-Arnold 86'
- Bajcetic for Elliott 86'
Leicester City
- Vardy for Daka 15'
- Tielemans for Ndidi 59'
- Iheanacho for Perez 71'
Cards
Liverpool
- None
Leicester City
- Soumare 67' Yellow
