A brilliant performance and an even better result for Leicester, who move into second place. A top-four finish is a realistic prospect; dreams of a second Premier League title aren’t quite over yet either. Liverpool meanwhile are going to end up in mid-table unless they turn their 2021 form around, and may have to draw inspiration from their 1981 and 2005 vintages, teams that were miles off in the league but still managed to win the European Cup. David Hytner’s verdict on a dramatic afternoon at the King Power has landed. Off you pop ... and thanks for reading this MBM!
Brendan Rodgers, who has beaten Liverpool for the first time since his days at Swansea, talks to BT Sport. “I’m very proud of the team. Probably a year ago, if we went behind, we’d have been disappointed and not got something from it. I thought in the first half we had the best chances, we obviously had to withstand pressure, but once we got through it we had some really good chances. I said at half time we needed to be more aggressive, we were too passive, and in the second half we were much better in our defensive aggression, and that allows you to attack with more aggression, and we scored the three goals. We had a plan if we were behind, the shape we would go into, and the players worked it brilliantly. So yeah, really happy. We went to two up front with a diamond structure, so when the game broke down for them, we had the space to go and exploit. Defensively we were good, we had to work and fight and run, and we had the quality to get the goals. There’s still a long way to go, 14 games, but I’ve been pleased with the mindset of the players, who are not getting carried away. You need humility at this level, because you’re up against such tough teams. But today was a really good performance against the champions.”
An ashen-faced Jurgen Klopp gives his analysis on BT Sport. “We conceded a goal that was a tough one to take. It was a turning point. I saw it now, a couple of times. The moment when VAR stopped the situation, he didn’t even touch the ball. So that’s really hard. For me it looks a clear offside, and that’s the moment it should be yes or no. The second goal is a misunderstanding. I said before we need to get used to each other, and we were used to each other until when the goal happened, it was a really good football game. They were one position ahead of us, maybe more now, but on the pitch that was not obvious, we were the clear dominant side. We played football, we did pretty much everything, scored a really nice goal. The game was really good, but they you concede these two goals. The third goal was something I don’t like, because we were too open and I told the boys that is not OK. But it is the situation we are in. Tough times. You saw we tried everything, it is not that we did not try. We were confident and played a super game. The turning point was the first goal. But that’s a point we take of criticism, that it changed too much with this one goal. We didn’t react well, I take that. But around that we played top football against a really strong side. In the end they finished the game and deserved the three points, but we have to deal with our observations.”
An extremely happy James Maddison speaks to BT Sport. “We know, when we play Liverpool, it’s going to be tough, because they can build and pass, and be direct as well. It’s a case of staying in the game. We’re a top team now, we’ve got quality, and if we get chances we can put them away. It showed, because in ten minutes we turned the game on its head. The more they started going for it, the more space the likes of Barnesy had. Alisson is obviously having a bit of a tough time at the moment, but I’m sure he’ll be back. I’m just glad we could take advantage of his mistake. We’re not there by fluke, we’ll keep grinding out results. We weren’t at our best, but it’s about big moments, so I’ll take the three points.”
That astonishing win moves Leicester into second spot, for a day at least. They’re now on 46 points, four behind leaders Manchester City, who have two games in hand. Manchester United can reclaim second spot tomorrrow, providing they avoid defeat at West Bromwich Albion. Liverpool however, any faint hopes of retaining their title completely extinguished, remain in fourth, but Chelsea, West Ham, Everton, Tottenham and Aston Villa are all in a position to pass them if they use their games in hand wisely. A top-four finish, given their 2021 form, looks like a pipe dream at the moment.
FULL TIME: Leicester City 3-1 Liverpool
If there was any lingering thoughts of Liverpool launching a late run for the title, they’ve been thoroughly quashed by seven wild minutes. Leicester are still in the hunt, though!
90 min +5: John Robinson reports from the States: “Jim Beglin just said in commentary on NBC: Never mind heavy metal football, at the moment it’s Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.”
90 min +4: Barnes is very close to releasing Vardy down the middle. Liverpool very close to two 4-1 defeats in a row. When would that have happened before?
90 min +3: Robertson crosses deep from the left. Too deep. Alexander-Arnold can’t reach it, and batters the ball deep into the stand, his frustration all too clear.
90 min +1: The first of five additional minutes flies by without incident.
90 min: Alisson, to his great credit, deals with a backpass by flicking it into the air and caressing it with the outside of his boot to Robertson on the left flank. Under pressure as well. No doubt he’ll get the lion’s share of the flack for Liverpool’s late seven-minute collapse, but he’s had a good game otherwise. (I know, I know.)
89 min: Perez has tweaked his knee, and Mendy comes on in his place.
88 min: Perez is down getting treatment. Time for a word from Chris Healy: “I was just about to say Thiago is an absolute liability anywhere near his own penalty area, but it seems at the moment Alisson is an even bigger one. Dear oh dear. Liverpool are only losing this game because of the gifts they have given Leicester.”
87 min: Shaqiri comes on for Wijnaldum, while Chowdhury replaces Tielemans.
86 min: What a collapse. Liverpool are a confidence-free shambles, that’s not been breaking news since December, but you have to credit Leicester for their response to falling behind. What moxie!
GOAL! Leicester City 3-1 Liverpool (Barnes 85)
Liverpool have fallen apart. Barnes makes another run down the inside-left channel. There’s nobody at the back. He enters the box, opens his body, and tucks the ball into the bottom right!
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83 min: It should be three. Barnes breezes down the left. He shoots low and hard towards the bottom right. Alisson parries sensationally ... then makes an even more outstanding stop from Vardy, who was in the process of slamming home from an angle on the right. The post helps a little, but Allison has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime. He’d been playing well before that clanger, as well.
GOAL! Leicester City 2-1 Liverpool (Vardy 81)
Another Allison catastrophe! A long ball over the top. Alisson comes racing out to blooter clear! But Kabak is preparing to hoick away, too. The pair clatter into each other, and Vardy walks the ball into the unguarded net! That is beyond ludicrous, especially in the wake of the Manchester City debacle!
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80 min: But it turns out that Firmino was playing everyone onside by his toenail. The goal stands!
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GOAL! Leicester City 1-1 Liverpool (Maddison 79)
Maddison curls it in low, the ball going straight through a ruck of players and into the bottom right! But Amartey is offside, and he had made a move towards the ball. The flag goes up. VAR will check.
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78 min: The foul was as close as can be to a penalty ... without conceding one. But it doesn’t matter, because ...
76 min: Leicester have responded wonderfully to going behind. Barnes dribbles down the left and goes over Thiago’s clumsy leg. This is just outside the white line, by a millimetre or so. Or at least as far as the naked eye can tell. The referee gives a free kick - or has he pointed to the spot? Either way, VAR is going to check.
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75 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain comes on for Jones.
74 min: Before the kick is taken, Perez comes on for Albrighton. Then the corner’s sent straight out of play by Maddison, whose dead-ball delivery has been uncharacteristically poor so far.
73 min: Alexander-Arnold takes. Vardy clears. Leicester have defended well this afternoon; they could do nothing about the goal. The hosts fly up the other end, Ricardo winning a corner down the left off Kabak.
72 min: Once again, Maddison’s delivery is poor and an easy gather for Alisson. Liverpool fly up the other end, winning a corner on the left.
71 min: Kabak picks up a yellow card on debut for not very much, going shoulder to shoulder with Barnes down the inside left. A free kick for Leicester, in a dangerous position just to the side of the Liverpool box.
70 min: Wijnaldum drives down the inside-left channel and lays off to Jones on the inside. Jones tries to replicate Firmino’s balletic spin, but can’t quite pull it off.
69 min: That had been coming, in terms of territory and possession anyway. Schmeichel hasn’t been forced into too much action, but he could do nothing about that. A gentle reminder that the reigning champions are not half bad when they get their game on.
GOAL! Leicester City 0-1 Liverpool (Salah 67)
This is an astonishing goal. Alexander-Arnold has a dig from distance on the right. Soyuncu blocks. The ball breaks back to Alexander-Arnold, who bursts down the right and cuts back for Firmino. He’s surrounded by three defenders, so pirouettes on the ball, rolling it back for Salah, who opens his body and steers calmly into the top left. Fine finish, but what an assist!
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66 min: Thiago, Mane and Alexander-Arnold draw some pretty triangles down the right, but there’s nobody in the middle for any of them to find, and the move eventually peters out.
64 min: Jones floats a curler in from the left, but it flies harmlessly between Firmino and Salah, easy pickings for Schmeichel.
63 min: Liverpool aren’t creating, while Leicester are struggling to retain possession. A bit of a stalemate.
62 min: The second corner is half-cleared by Leicester, but Liverpool keep them pushed back in their final third.
61 min: Alexander-Arnold, tight on the right touchline, sprays a delicious crossfield pass towards Robertson. Albrighton is forced to knock behind for a corner. Firmino meets it at the near post, his header pinging off Ndidi and out for another corner.
60 min: Thiago robs Barnes and releases Salah into acres down the right. But Salah overruns the ball, allowing Soyuncu to stride over and bash a clearance into the stand.
58 min: Mane beats Amartey down the left in elegant style, but can’t find anyone with his cross. Salah tries down the other flank, but his final ball is lacking as well. To be fair, neither player had many options in the middle.
57 min: Salah spins Ricardo and is brought down for his trouble. Alexander-Arnold whips the free kick towards the top right. It takes a slight deflection off the wall, beats Schmeichel, and crashes off the junction of the bar and post!
55 min: Leicester ship possession on the edge of their own box, Evans struggling to reach the ball. They’re fortunate that Mane dawdles with space ahead of him on the left, and that Thiago subsequently miscontrols.
53 min: Vardy threatens to break down the left but is stopped by a perfectly timed Kabak sliding tackle. While we’re on the subject of palindromic players, here’s SF Devereux: “I’m sure all the Liverpool fans reading will have fond memories of Ricky Otto and his excellently taken FA Cup goal against them for Birmingham.”
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51 min: Another poor effort, flat and easily cleared. But Tielemans finds some space on the left and slips Maddison away down the flank. Maddison’s low cross, meant for Vardy, is snaffled by Alisson. Liverpool break upfield, Robertson slashing wildly over from the edge of the box. A perfectly poised game, this.
50 min: But they’ll get another chance, because Maddison comes back at Liverpool down the same flank, and is upended by Robertson. This is a lot closer to the Liverpool box. Danger here.
49 min: Leicester line up on the edge of the box. Maddison takes the free kick. Straight into the arms of Alisson. Very poor.
48 min: A long pass down the left for Barnes. Alexander-Arnold tugs him back. Just a free kick. It looked more of a booking than Jones’s first-half yellow. Very strange.
47 min: Evans is still limping. It’s not immediately clear why he’s been sent out again. Nobody’s warming up, either, just in case, so the Leicester docs must be confident that he’ll run whatever it is off.
Liverpool get the second half underway. No changes. Evans, who limped off at the end of the first half, is still not moving too freely, though. Meanwhile here’s Richard Hirst: “Could we count the Fulham pair John Collins Collins John?” Nice try, but no.
Half-time palindromic postbag: “Marcelo Salas upfront, Eberechi Eze behind him, Ante Cilic in... the team (not sure where to be honest).” Jon Collin there, everyone; drab as a fool, aloof as a bard.
HALF TIME: Leicester City 0-0 Liverpool
Liverpool have bossed the possession and territory stats, but it’s Jamie Vardy who has had the best opportunities. Three of them. Plenty for both managers to ponder at the break.
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45 min: Alexander-Arnold smacks the free kick into the wall. Very poor. Evans limps upfield. His Leicester team-mates are moving more freely, and suddenly Vardy is on his own, on the left-hand edge of the box. But he’s denied by a fine Alisson star-jump. Fine goalkeeping, a tribute to the bloke up the other end’s father.
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44 min: Mane drives towards the Leicester box and is brought down by Evans, who is booked and may also have tweaked something. Anyway, he decides he’s good to continue for now, and it’ll be a free kick just to the right of the D.
43 min: That’s technically a let-off for Liverpool, because the flag didn’t go up for offside. Vardy looked an inch or two ahead of Henderson, so it’d have been interesting had it gone in, given the tombola that is VAR.
42 min: ... then Maddison suddenly hoicks a long ball down the middle, releasing Vardy! He races clear of Henderson, and upon reaching the edge of the box, releases a rising shot that hammers the top of the bar and out for a goal kick!
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41 min: The game slows for the first time today.
39 min: Alexander-Arnold and Salah combine sweetly and smoothly down the right. The ball’s sent infield for Firmino, who releases Robertson down the left. Robertson enters the box and sends a drive towards the bottom right. Amartey deflects it wide of goal, and nothing comes of the resulting corner.
37 min: Tielemans nearly sends Barnes clear down the middle, Liverpool’s back line all over the shop. But Barnes can’t sort his feet out, and Alexander-Arnold is able to come over and put a stop to his plans.
36 min: Barnes teases Alexander-Arnold down the left. He works enough space to chip a cross into the centre. Henderson can’t reach it, and it falls towards Vardy, who tries to steer a downward header into the bottom right, but sends it straight into Alisson’s arms. Great chance!
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34 min: Liverpool re-establish some dominance, albeit in the sterile fashion.
32 min: Tielemans curls a pass down the right for Albrighton. It should be easy for Robertson to mop up, but he takes a fresh-air swipe at the ball. Albrighton nearly gets in, but Alisson steps in to snaffle. Leicester are slowly working their way back into this.
30 min: ... but Ndidi weakly heads Maddison’s corner wide right.
29 min: Maddison has a dig from distance. The ball deflects off Kabak for Leicester’s first corner of the evening. Liverpool have had quite a few, by contrast. You know how these things often go.
28 min: Liverpool continue to knock at the door. A free kick leads to another corner. But the Leicester back line stands firm. Both teams will be happy with their performances, for differing reasons.
26 min: The corner on the right is worked to Henderson on the left. Henderson chips across. Firmino should slam home, but Schmeichel sticks out a strong arm to save sensationally! Leicester clear, whereupon it becomes apparent that Firmino would have been flagged offside. But Schmeichel wasn’t to know that. What a save! Firmino didn’t hit his shot straight at him; Schmeichel had to stick his right arm out at 90 degrees to block that. Wow.
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25 min: Robertson embarks on one of his trademark head-down power runs, left to right, eventually freeing Salah into space. Salah moves it forward to Firmino, who tries to chip Schmeichel from a tight angle. Saved. Corner.
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24 min: Leicester break from the corner through Maddison and Barnes. Jones is booked for brushing both of them. Both challenges look like a foul; neither looked worth a booking. But here we are.
23 min: Henderson is in quarterback mode today. He pearls another long pass down the right, straight to Salah’s feet. Ricardo comes across to run the ball out for a corner.
21 min: Maddison dribbles into the Liverpool box from the right, but loses control. Liverpool break at speed, Alexander-Arnold romping down the middle and slipping Salah away down the inside-right. Salah decides he can’t chip over the charging Schmeichel, so dinks inside for Mane, who slides in, hoping to toe-poke home from sic yards. Amartey gets in the road, a stunning last-ditch challenge that averts the goal and even secures a goal kick. Lovely football all round.
19 min: Jones and Thiago combine well in the middle of the park, releasing Robertson down the left. Robertson’s cross pings off Mane’s head and out for a goal kick. For all Liverpool’s dominance of the ball, Schmeichel hasn’t had any work to do yet.
17 min: Milner has picked up a knock ... or more likely a muscle injury. He signals to the bench. He can’t continue. He trudges off sadly, to be replaced by Thiago.
16 min: Mane turns on the jets and tries to beat Amartey down the left. Nearly. Corner. That one leads to another, on the other side. That second one is half-cleared, and Salah has a whack from the edge of the box. He shins it well wide right.
14 min: The game continues to flow at a very pleasant pace. “Is it clear yet whether Kabak is Liverpool’s palindromic, pandemic panic pick?” wonders Paul Griffin. “On the subject of palindromes, is there a footballing team sheet compiled only of same-backwards players? Libpool’s Ojo would obviously start. I suppose Pep would get a game in midfield. Turkey’s Hakan Sas would be upfront. City’s Asa Hartford perhaps too.” Where’s Mac Millings when you need him?
12 min: Salah goes for a ball just inside the Leicester box on the right. Ricardo hangs out a leg. A brush of the boot and Salah goes over. You’ve seen them given, but you’ve also seen them not given. One of those. Neither referee nor VAR chappie is interested, and we play on.
11 min: Barnes wedges a pass down the left for Vardy, sitting on Kabak’s shoulder. He gets a yard on his man, but is faced with a very tight angle. He tries to do a Danny Ings, but his diagonal chip sails harmlessly over.
10 min: Henderson creams a lovely pass down the middle to release Salah. A goal looks on the cards, but Salah, chesting down, can’t sort his feet out and pokes out harmlessly, wide left of goal. A sly but fair nudge in the back from Ricardo put him off.
9 min: Liverpool have enjoyed 68 percent possession so far.
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8 min: Milner, Firmino and Mane combine cutely down the inside-left channel. Milner pokes forward to Mane, who wins a corner off Amartey, but the flag goes up belatedly for offside. Liverpool look a little more like Liverpool in these early exchanges.
6 min: Mane dribbles infield from left to right, laying off to Salah just inside the Leicester box. Salah tries to find Firmino in the middle, but his cross is weak and easily cleared. A crisp start on a crisp afternoon by both teams.
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5 min: Ndidi very nearly slips Vardy away down the inside-left channel. We’re denied a Vardy versus Kabak footrace, as Henderson steps in to intercept. That’d have been interesting all right.
4 min: Alexander-Arnold then finds Mane down the middle. He nearly breaks clear, but Soyuncu intercepts to concede his second corner of the game. Leicester deal with this one easily enough as well.
3 min: A Leicester long ball. Vardy chases after it. Alisson comes out of his box and cushions a pass to Alexander-Arnold with his thigh. Early signs that the keeper has rebuilt some confidence since last weekend’s double meltdown.
2 min: ... Leicester clear and break. Jones and Alexander-Arnold confuse each other, and Maddison decides to have a whack at goal from the centre circle, with Alisson miles from his line. It’s a decent enough dig, but Alisson ambles back and catches casually with one hand.
32 seconds: Robertson breezes down the left and curls dangerously into the Leicester box, forcing Soyuncu to head behind for the first corner of the game. From which ...
Leicester get the ball rolling ... but only after the players take a knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.
Here come the teams! Leicester are in their royal blue, Liverpool in first-choice red. A broad smile spreads across Kabak’s face as he takes to the field for his debut. Icicles have formed on the nets. We’ll be off in a minute!
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Brendan Rodgers takes his turn. “There’s still quite a way to go. It’s fantastic game, one we’re really looking forward to. It’s a really tough game against the champions but one in which we want to show our qualities. It’s big blow for us with James [Justin], a young player coming through from League One to play at the top end of the Premier League, he was just getting better and better all the time. He’s a tough boy mentally and hopefully he’ll be back in a few months. We can adapt and change, and the team is fresh, with a lot of players rested in the midweek.”
Jurgen Klopp catches up with Des Kelly. “It was a good training week, an important training week for him [Kabak]. Unfortunately Ben Davies picked up a little knock as well. [laughs] It’s unbelievable! [laughs some more] But Ozan looked good in training, the boys got used to each other. Of course we know today is a proper test, against Barnes, Vardy, Maddison, all these kind of things, so it will be tricky. But we think we are prepared. It’s not that there is a difference between Premier League and Bundesliga, because in the Bundesliga you play against top, top, top strikers; it’s more than you are in a new team. That makes a difference. Defending is a common thing, but you do not defend alone and you have to get used to each other. That’s what we tried to do in the last few sessions and hopefully it will work. Leicester are top, outstanding, Brendan is doing a brilliant job. Really strong, a good footballing side. It is a proper football game!”
Pre-match postbag, with Stephen Carr. “I’m unsure as to what fresh hell awaits us Reds today. I’ve never seen confidence as low as it is under Klopp. That being said, Rodgers can’t help himself against Liverpool and will probably have spent this week confusing his team with an inverted pyramid set up with a quasi 6/trequartista hybrid with underlapping fullbacks. On ice.”
Speaking of winter conditions, while it’s sunny in Leicester this morning, it’s expected to feel like minus nine by the time of kick off. That’s according to BT Sport’s Des Kelly, who presumably knows what he’s talking about, having already experienced a similar temperature while interviewing Jurgen Klopp at Brighton earlier in the season.
Leicester make four changes to the side sent out for the goalless draw at Wolves last weekend. Jamie Vardy, Marc Albrighton, Wilfred Ndidi and Daniel Amartey replace Kelechi Iheanacho, Ayoze Perez, Hamza Choudhury (all benched) and the stricken James Justin.
A radical change to Liverpool’s philosophy as they field a centre-back. There’s a debut for Ozan Kabak, who will play alongside Jordan Henderson, while James Milner comes into the midfield. Fabinho, who has a muscle injury, misses out altogether, while Thiago drops to the bench, supposedly not 100-percent fit.
The teams
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Amartey, Evans, Soyuncu, Ricardo Pereira, Tielemans, Ndidi, Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy.
Subs: Ward, Iheanacho, Perez, Under, Choudhury, Mendy, Fuchs, Thomas, Daley-Campbell.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Kabak, Henderson, Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Thiago, Adrian, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tsimikas, Shaqiri, Rhys Williams, Phillips, Clarkson, Neco Williams.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).
Preamble
This is a fixture with great symbolism for both clubs. The last time it was played, on Boxing Day 2019, Leicester still harboured hopes of the Premier League title, but Liverpool dismantled them in style, swanning their way to a 4-0 win capped by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s late forensic strike. It was arguably the signature performance of Liverpool’s title-winning campaign; for one reason or another, they’ve never quite hit the same heights since.
Leicester meanwhile will drift back to 2016, when Jamie Vardy hit that astonishing long-distance screamer over Simon Mignolet. Was there a better moment to encapsulate the verve and sheer joy of one of the greatest campaigns in the history of All Sport? The loudest bolt of lightning during a perfect storm.
As things stand, with Manchester City easing clear at the top, it doesn’t look as though this year’s version will embroider a title tapestry for either team. But these are top-notch competitive athletes, so nobody will have given up hope quite yet. Anyway, there’s Champions League qualification to play for. Leicester are in better nick right now, three points ahead of Liverpool in the table, and coming off the back of a dramatic late FA Cup win over Brighton, hopes of a first-ever FA Cup getting stronger. Liverpool by contrast have just been undressed by Manchester City, and have lost four of their last six. They’ve won their last three matches against Leicester, though, and are also on a three-game winning tear at the King Power.
A big one coming up, then, that may have a bearing on the title race, but definitely will shape the fight for a top-four finish. It’s on!
Kick off: 12.30pm GMT.
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