Liverpool survive Leicester, remain perfect atop Premier League table

Liverpool faced a second half storm, but came through it with all three points. Here are three key takeaways from Liverpool’s win at Leicester.

On the whole, Liverpool will be pleased they came through arguably their toughest test of the season so far relatively unscathed. But there were nervy moments they had to push through to win. Here are three key points from Saturday’s game.

Joe Gomez will be a key figure for Liverpool

There’s a reason Joe Gomez was thought to be a big loss for England in the World Cup, and there’s a reason he’s straight back in both Liverpool and England’s squad.

Gomez has a lot to his game that can be admired. He is versatile, energetic and tough, but his greatest quality is his intelligence. The ability to read the game is what distinguishes good players from the greatest, and on his display at Leicester, Klopp will be very pleased.

In the second half, when Liverpool were on the ropes, they had Gomez to thank when he made a goal-saving tackle on James Maddison. Yes, Liverpool were still two goals up at that point, but it would have meant Leicester would have had the majority of the half to go for an equalizer.

Gomez decision making in that situation was outstanding, and is an idicator of just how important he’s going to be for the rest of the season.

Liverpool are (obviously) title contendors

On the face of it, when a club spends the amount of money Liverpool did in the window, it’s for a very real ambition. But it’s rare that a team retains it’s good qualities and improves so quickly so soon.

Last season, Liverpool would have probably drawn a fixture like this. They have played out three nervy games so far against Brighton, Crystal Palace and now Leicester, and have got 9 points out of 9.

This is huge.

While, talent and quality has never really been in questions, Liverpool’s fragile mentality has come into question numerous times.

If a team is to challenge for the title, they have to have steel, determination and desire to win no matter what. On the back of this performance against Leicester, they have shown exactly that.

Leicester can push for Europe

With Jamie Vardy to return after serving his three match suspension, Leicester will receive a much needed boost up front.

Despite having strengthened all around the park this summer, Leicester are still heavily dependent on Vardy’s prowess up top. And yet, Claude Puel will be very happy with what his youthful squad showed against Leicester. In the pre-match press conference, Puel had said he wanted his side to show character, bravery and desire on the field and that’s exactly what they showed.

James Maddison looks like a real player for Leicester, but Rachid Ghezzal, Kelechi Iheanacho also showed what they can bring to the table, harrying the Liverpool defence and showing good energy up front.

Leicester’s squad is a lot younger than the one that won the title two years ago, and Puel looks like the right man to bring the best out of this fresh team and have them push for Europe next season.