Liverpool 3-2 Leicester: 3 takeaways
Liverpool beat Leicester 3-2 in a wild, end-to-end match on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the Premier League match.
Liverpool eked out a 3-2 draw against Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, after almost throwing away 2-0 and 3-1 leads. These two sides have played plenty of exciting matches in the past few seasons, but this was among the best.
What looked early on like it would be a comfortable away win turned into a wild, end-to-end contest in the second half. Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho scored to put Liverpool 2-0 up in the first half, but Leicester pulled one back before halftime through Shinji Okazaki.
Jordan Henderson made it 3-1 to the Reds in the 68th minute, but Jamie Vardy reduced the deficit to one minutes later, before winning, then missing, a penalty to bring the Foxes level. Here are three takeaways from the match.
1. Some things never change
Liverpool’s defensive weaknesses have been on full display early on in 2017-18, and Saturday was no different. This was, in many ways, the archetypal Reds performance: dominate early, take a lead, then watch it all (almost) slip away in a fire of defensive incompetence.
All the hallmarks of Liverpool’s defensive ineptitude were on show here, from poor marking on set pieces to sloppy clearances to goalkeeping uncertainty. The Reds made an effort to shut down the game after going up 2-0, putting 11 men behind the ball and taking fewer risks on the break, but characteristic mistakes undermined the effort.
They were a little unfortunate to concede the opening goal — Jame Vardy appeared to dive to win Leicester the free-kick that led to the corner from which they scored, and Shinji Okazaki tugged on Simon Mignolet’s arm as the keeper tried to punch the ball from that corner — but the speed at which fear floods through this defense is remarkable.
Jordan Henderson’s 68th-minute goal to put his side 3-1 up did little to calm the nerves. The Reds seemed to lose their focus, and after leaving Vardy unmarked in the six-yard box to score Leicester’s second, and were only a Mignolet penalty save away from coughing up the lead they had held for most of the match.
What is there to say about this defense that hasn’t been said already? Liverpool did well to hold on, putting an end to a bad run of results that began after the last international break, but the questions that have dogged them all season aren’t going away any time soon.
2. The season starts now for Leicester
Leicester remain stuck on four points, above the relegation zone only on goal difference. The good news is their brutal start to the season has come to an end. In their first six matches, the Foxes have played (and lost to) Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
They’ve performed well enough against those sides, and could easily have picked up points against both Arsenal and Liverpool, but their difficult schedule doesn’t change the fact this is their worst start to a Premier League season in their current stint in the top flight.
With matches against Bournemouth, West Brom, Swansea, Everton and Stoke coming up before a Nov. 18 game against Manchester City, the time is now for Leicester to start moving up the table.
The difficulty of their early-season fixture list has meant Craig Shakespeare, in his first season as a manager, has avoided significant scrutiny, but a 1-1 away draw with Huddersfield in their last away match might be cause for concern.
The Foxes’ counter-attacking style is well-suited to playing the best sides in the league, who tend to dominate the ball and leave space in behind. Shakespeare will need to show his side are capable of varying their approach against more defensive teams in the coming weeks.
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3. Liverpool were right to keep Coutinho
Barcelona’s interest in Coutinho, and Coutinho’s interest in Barca, received a lot of attention this summer, but Liverpool held firm in their desire to keep the Brazilian. The decision was met with criticism by some, who thought the club were foolish not accept the eye-watering sum the Catalan club offered for a player who has yet to prove himself in the Champions League.
But if there were any doubts about Coutinho’s value to this Liverpool side, they should have been put to bed during the match against Leicester. The attacking midfielder was exceptional in his second league start of the season, setting up Salah for the game’s opening goal and curling in a wonderful free-kick to double his side’s lead.
Salah and Sadio Mane both received plenty of plaudits in Coutinho’s absence at the beginning of the season, and both will be crucial to any success the Reds’ have this year, but neither can compare to the Brazilian in terms of sheer technical quality and creative brilliance. Coutinho is Liverpool’s best player, and they’re a better team for having rejected Barca’s advances.