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Liverpool fell further behind in the Premier League title race as they suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Leicester City on Tuesday night. The Reds had not tasted defeat in their last seven Premier League outings and were the out-and-out favorites against a depleted Leicester side.
Jurgen Klopp’s men started well against the Foxes and won themselves a penalty after only 14 minutes of play. Unfortunately and uncharacteristically, Mohamed Salah dispatched an unconvincing shot and failed to find the back of the net.
Leicester City keeper Kasper Schmeichel made four saves during the course of the game. Moreover, he saved three shots which were taken from inside the penalty box. Jamie Vardy and James Maddison had the opportunity to put Leicester ahead in the closing minutes of the first half. But the duo failed to take advantage.
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The breakthrough finally came in the 59th minute through substitute Ademola Lookman. Having been on the pitch for three minutes, the 24-year-old found himself at the end of a sharp Leicester City counter-attack down the left-wing. Lookman had a go at the near-post and beat Alisson Becker to much fanfare.
The Reds failed to show any urgency despite going down and ended up suffering their second consecutive league defeat to Leicester.
Here are the five Liverpool players who were responsible for their defeat to the Foxes on Tuesday night:
#5 Jordan Henderson
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson endured a rather uncomfortable night at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday. His distribution and involvement were decent, but his decision to shoot from range was not a good one.
He attempted two volleys and a half-volley, but none of them was even close to troubling the Leicester goalkeeper.
After a subdued start to the second half, Henderson was taken off for Roberto Firmino in the 70th minute.
#4 Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been one of Liverpool’s standout performers this season. But against Leicester City, he looked like any other run-of-the-mill full-back, devoid of the quality to breach the Foxes’ resistance.
The Englishman tried to get involved in the game, but Leicester did not allow him to move into threatening areas. Additionally, Alexander-Arnold played a part in Leicester City’s only goal of the match.
Despite getting a head start, Alexander-Arnold was beaten by Ademola Lookman in a decisive foot race down Leicester's left flank.
Once Lookman was through, Liverpool couldn’t do anything to stop the goal.
#3 Diogo Jota
Considering the form he is in, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp did not think twice before starting Diogo Jota against Leicester City. He has been in good form in recent matches and was expected to get plenty of chances at the King Power Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Portugal international, Leicester were in no mood to give Liverpool a free pass and defended as their lives depended on it.
Jota was getting into threatening areas every now and then, but failed to work the keeper. Out of his three shots, one was blocked while the other two were off-target.
The former Wolves star created one big chance, but ended up missing one as well. To make matters worse, the Liverpool striker gave away possession 15 times.
All in all, it was a frustrating night for the league’s second-leading goalscorer.
#2 Mohamed Salah
While Jota struggled to get into the game, Mohamed Salah was responsible for squandering the most clear-cut goalscoring chance on the night.
In the 14th minute, Wilfred Ndidi lunged in on Salah inside the Leicester City box. The referee awarded the visitors a spot-kick and the Egyptian international promptly stepped up to take it.
Salah’s shot was not going into any of the four corners and the height was also decent for the keeper. To top it off, Salah misjudged the resulting rebound and scuffed another opportunity.
Salah came close on a couple of occasions, but Leicester City keeper Kasper Schmeichel was more than up for the task. Salah also gave away possession 16 times and lost eight duels against the hosts on Tuesday.
#1 Sadio Mane
Since joining Liverpool half a decade ago, Sadio Mane has almost always been the hardest worker in the room. He runs tirelessly, presses as hard as you would need him to, and pops up with important goals whenever possible.
Last night, he effortlessly checked off the first two boxes, but forgot to put his shooting boots on.
Mane’s runs were threatening as ever, but he rarely ventured towards the Leicester goal in the first half. In the second 45, he went closer on a couple of occasions, but failed to apply the all-important finishing touch.
In the 55th minute, Jota teed up Mane inside the Leicester box, but the Senegalese player failed to keep his effort under the bar.
33 minutes later, Mane came close to making amends for his sins, but once again sent his effort well wide. A bad day at the office for Liverpool's number 10.
