midfielder Roberto Firmino celebrates after scoring a goal during
the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and
Leicester City at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on
November 22, 2020. Laurence Griffiths / POOL / AFP
Liverpool were not derailed by an injury crisis as
Jurgen Klopp’s men produced a dominant display to beat Leicester
3-0 and move level on points with Premier League leaders
Tottenham.
Klopp was missing seven first-team regulars through injury and
top scorer Mohamed Salah due to a positive coronavirus test, but
Liverpool still swept aside a Leicester team who had started the
weekend on top of the table.
Jonny Evans’s own goal was just reward for the Reds’ bright
start before Diogo Jota set a record-breaking start to life at
Anfield.
The Portuguese international became the first Liverpool player
to score in his first four home le ague games when he headed home
Andy Robertson’s inch-perfect cross.
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Kasper Schmeichel in the Leicester goal kept the score down as
he made a series of second-half saves, notably from Sadio Mane and
Jota, while Evans had a lucky escape as the post prevented him from
scoring a second own goal.
Roberto Firmino thought he had been denied just his third league
goal in 24 games when the Brazilian’s shot came back off the post
and his follow-up was cleared by Marc Albrighton with just 10
millimetres of the ball not over the line.
But Firmino rounded off a brilliant team performance by rising
highest to meet James Milner’s corner.
Another muscle injury suffered by Naby Keita was the only
negative for Klopp on a night when his side showed they will not
give up their title easily despite losing centre-backs Virgil van
Dijk and Joe Gomez for the rest of the season.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has now lost all three meetings
against his former club and just like the previous meeting between
the sides, which Liverpool won 4-0 in December, the Foxes were
shown the gulf they have to bridge to become title contenders.
Harvey Barnes wasted one big opportunity for the visitors when
he sliced wide Jamie Vardy’s cross at 1-0.
But the end to a six-game winning run sees Leicester fall back
to fourth, two points off the top.
Liverpool paid tribute to former goalkeeper Ray Clemence, who
died aged 72 after a long battle with prostate cancer this week,
before kick-off.
Alisson Becker wore a replica of Clemence’s jersey from the 1981
European Cup final win over Real Madrid in the warm-up, while his
former teammates Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush paid their respects
from the stands.
And two of Liverpool’s greatest ever players also got the chance
to show their appreciation to the current crop, who surpassed a
club record they set between 1978 and 1981, as Klopp’s men are now
unbeaten in 64 league games at Anfield stretching back to April
2017.
AFP
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