Leicester City narrowly triumphed over Liverpool in a tight contest. A 1-0 home win best described by intensity. Here are the winner player ratings.
Brendan Rodgers will be excited with such an edgy yet spirited performance which saw the King Power side hold off the Merseyside reds before substitute Ademola Lookman scored at the 59th minute.
However, the result was far from comfortable affair. Throughout most of the match, the visitors controlled the game and consistently switched the ball from each wing in a bid to get the ball into our box. Luckily, despite some edgy situations where the ever brilliant Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane were creating chances from poor defensive judgement, players managed to maintain the clean sheet.
The Foxes prepared for the match brilliantly, and for the first time we can say the defensive performance from set pieces was a marked improvement on previous fixtures. Despite backing the zone, the gaffer chose a mix of man marking and zonal marking, with a player on the near and far post with all others man marking Liverpool players.
The line-up was this: Kasper Schmeichel, Luke Thomas, Wilfred Ndidi, Daniel Amartey, Timothy Castagne, Boubakary Soumare, Hamza Choudhury, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Jamie Vardy. Substitutes: Youri Tielemans, Ademola Lookman, and Marc Albrighton.
Leicester City’s first half
Throughout the first half of the match, City were shaky in possession (mainly due to the immense pressure the Reds put teams under) with wayward passing the norm. Nevertheless, Liverpool could not make those chances count.
There are four names I want to point out as providing that inspiration for the Foxes to hold on and not concede. Firstly – the most obvious – the Great Dane Schmeichel was simply stupendous. A Salah penalty save at the 14th minute, a series of high claims, offside saves better than ever, and much more commanding of his box.
Next, Big Dan Amartey. Defensively he was constantly involved. From last minute blocks to pressuring players and knowing when not to put in challenges, the Ghanaian showed that he has to start whenever possible. There were a couple of moments Amartey made a decision to be creative, and whenever he did, we looked to create. More of the same please.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is a name you should have heard almost incessantly. Almost every dangerous moment came from KDH combining with Thomas, Choudhury, Madders, and Vardy. The English midfielder was simply everywhere.
Finally, I have got to shout out another one of our own – Choudhury. The energetic midfielder came in ahead of one of the best technical passers in the world and yet performed excellently. Though occasionally lacking in awareness, he looked to gain the ball for Leicester City and put players under pressure.
Ratings at half time were:
KS (8), LT (6), WN (6), DA (7), TC (7), HC (7), BS (5), KDH (7), JM (6), KI (6), JV (5). Vardy only scores lower due to a massive lack of involvement.
The killer second half
Initially, Rodgers chose not to make major changes before the tides turned into completed Red domination. During the 46-54th minute, Leicester City were making small mistakes and being forced into last gasp defending.
There was a single moment where the home grown midfielders combined with our greatest ever striker to create what should have been a wonderful chance for a goal. This chance at the 51st minute was the result of a break, though Kostas Tsimikas made a crucial touch to deny Vardy the chance.
At the 55th minute, Ade and the Belgian Starman were substituted on. At the 59th minute Ademola Lookman combined with KDH once again to score the only goal of the match in sensational fashion. The loanee winger looked confident and stylish, a perfect fit to win a critical match.
The fixture continued with a series of silly fouls from Soumare, shaky yet intense defending from Amartey and Ndidi, and of course goalkeeping of the highest order from Schmeichel.
With all said and done, my overall player ratings are:
KS (10), LT (7), WN (7), DA (8), TC (7), HC (7), BS (6), KDH (9), JM (7), KI (6), JV (6), YT (6), AL (8), MA (6). Congratulations to the players and to our man of the match Kasper Schmeichel. It is always a good result when Jurgen Klopp states that your side deserved to win.