Liverpool 3-0 Leicester City
Liverpool drew level with Spurs at the top of the Premier League tonight with a well-earned victory over Leicester City.
The Foxes had the chance to go top of the league themselves, but Liverpool’s summer signing Diogo Jota put in a man-of-the-match performance, terrorizing the visitors’ defence and scoring for his fourth consecutive home game to make an explosive start to his Anfield career.
The Premier League 2020 betting odds have re-installed Liverpool as the title favourites and with Manchester City losing to Spurs yesterday this turned out to be a great weekend for the Reds.
Highlights of the game
When Leicester played Liverpool last year they were engulfed by a Red wave, as Klopp’s side hammered the Foxes 0-4, and the champions went close to opening the scoring in the early minutes tonight when Jota took a pass from Roberto Firmino and hit a sweet shot which Kasper Schmeichel had to be alert to save.
Having tested positive for COVID-19 while away with Egypt Mo Salah, who has been in fantastic form again with eight goals from eight games, was absent. But with Jota alongside Firmino and Sadio Mane, the Reds still carried a serious attacking threat; and they were ahead on 21 minutes, though it was a Leicester player who opened the scoring as Jonny Evans bizarrely headed a Liverpool corner into his own net giving Schmeichel no chance.
Harvey Barnes should have equalised, almost immediately, when Jamie Vardy squared to him but he sliced his shot wide with the goal at his mercy. And James Justin came close with a curling effort which flew just wide of the far post. But soon enough the Reds doubled their lead and this time there was no luck about it. Curtis Jones spread the ball out to Andrew Robertson on the left and the wing-back swung in a brilliant cross which Jota glanced past Schmeichel and into the net.
The two combined in the first move of the second half but this time Jota lifted Robertson’s cross over the bar, and then Barnes had a shot blocked by Joel Matip. Liverpool almost made it three but Schmeichel kept the Foxes in the game with a fine stop to deny Mane who was clean through on goal. Liverpool continued to press and Jota had a low shot saved before he crossed into the danger area and Firmino had his shot saved by Schmeichel, but the ball looped up and this time Evans headed it onto the post!
And in an amazing sequence of events, on 75 minutes, it was hard to see how Liverpool failed to make it three. Jota put Firmino through and he beat Schmeichel with a cross-shot but the ball bounced back off the post and was cleared off the line. Mane’s follow up shot was deflected onto the same post before Schmeichel claimed the ball.
Firmino eventually got his goal on 86 minutes with a well-aimed header low into the bottom corner and that was that. Liverpool were lucky to escape with a point in a recent clash with Manchester City but this was a comprehensive victory over another top of the table rival.
The other Premier League 2020 results, notably City’s defeat to Spurs, have blown the title race wide open but the Reds are the team to beat, make no mistake about that.
Key statistics
Leicester City are going again this season, determined to finish at least one better than their 2019/20 fifth place, but Brendan Rodgers remains cautious and, after this performance, rightly so. But they were up against a Liverpool side is scintillating form.
Here at SBOTOP the pre-match odds had the Reds at 1.77 to win and from the moment Evans put through his own net the result was never in much doubt.
The result means that Liverpool are unbeaten at Anfield for a record 64 league games in a row.
And Diogo Jota has scored in each of his first four top-flight home games for Liverpool, the only player in the club’s history to achieve that feat.
What’s next?
Liverpool visit Brighton next weekend and that promises to be an entertaining clash. The Seagulls play some attractive football at times and have put a little distance between themselves and the bottom three having beaten Aston Villa this weekend. But before they head to the South coast Liverpool meet free-scoring Serie A club Atalanta in a Champions League tie at Anfield.
The Foxes must now lick their wounds before visiting Braga in their Europa League tie, and then they return home to meet struggling Fulham.
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