Leicester 3-1 Liverpool: A tactical breakdown of Foxes comeback

The result supports this sentiment, the problem was there and Leicester solved it. Just prior to the seven minutes of madness, which involved the Foxes equalising, leading and then cementing their lead, Ayoze Pérez replaced Marc Albrighton. I’m not stating that the latter was at fault for Leicester City’s deficit – I’d argue his energetic tracking and awareness of danger stop Andrew Robertson from having a “free role” at left-back. But, the Spaniard definitely held a higher – occasionally more central – natural positioning and that was directly influential in Harvey Barnes’ goal. Pérez intercepted a poor pass into the midfield and quickly found Ndidi, before the Nigerian found Barnes.

The interesting caveat is that Leicester City shifted to a 4-1-2-1-2 after going behind (often referred to as a “diamond”), with – and this is a personal assumption – Barnes accompanying Vardy up front (shown by his positioning for the goal). Maddison would play as the focal point of the diamond, Pérez and Tielemans as the two “box-to-box” players or #8’s, with Ndidi playing as the sole #6. In the few occasions the Foxes have utilised the formation, its being fairly positive – the highest profile case being the 4-1 decimation of Aston Villa (A) last season. It’s also another formation to add to the list of tactical nuances Leicester City can adopt and default to depending on the situation – which is further credit to Rodgers and the coaching.

But, in all honesty the Foxes just needed some fortune in their favour and that’s what changed in those final moments. Prior to James Maddison’s equaliser, Leicester City thought they had a penalty – after Thiago Alcântara fouled Barnes as he shifted the ball between both feet and into the penalty area. But, after a VAR viewing the foul was correctly judged to be just outside the box – it seemed that in this moment that slice of fortune had just vanished. Until less than a minute later, when Maddison’s free-kick somehow missed every player in the area and slotted into the far corner – this was also overturned by the on-field official for offside against Daniel Amartey – before, again, VAR correctly overturned the decision.

It was in this moment, when the fortune had shifted into the Foxes favour and the recent miseries of Liverpool’s form were being highlighted again, that Leicester City started to strut their stuff and deservedly ran away with the fixture. In a game of ninety minutes, sometimes you need to dig deep for the majority and show your qualities in those moments of importance – and inside the final fifteen minutes, that’s when the Foxes pounced.

I would’ve suggested that Leicester City and Brendan Rodgers had outdone themselves this season with their “giant killing” name tag, but they’ve added Liverpool to their repertoire. You couldn’t ask for a better result ahead of a gruelling midweek game in the UEFA Europa League versus Sparta Prague. Let’s hope the Foxes can replicate this result with a slightly improved performance and put themselves one step closer to the Round of 16.