Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson (second right) was involved in another defensive calamity following his mistakes against Manchester City last weekLeicester City staged an astonishing late comeback to beat Liverpool as the Premier League champions collapsed and paid the price for another defensive calamity involving keeper Alisson.
Liverpool looked to be cementing their top-four aspirations when Mohamed Salah put them ahead after 67 minutes with a clever finish after a piece of individual brilliance in the penalty area by Roberto Firmino.
Leicester – who were not at their best even though Jamie Vardy missed two glorious first-half chances – suddenly bounced off the canvas to sink the champions with three goals in a chaotic seven-minute period.
The Foxes saw a 78th-minute penalty award ruled out by the video assistant referee and even though James Maddison’s resulting free-kick found its way into the net past Alisson it was initially ruled out for an offside against Daniel Amartey before being given after a VAR check.
Leicester’s second three minutes later was another horror show for Liverpool keeper Alisson, whose poor clearances contributed to two goals in Manchester City’s win at Anfield last Sunday. This time the Brazilian recklessly dashed out to clear Youri Tielemans’ long ball, only to farcically crash into debutant defender Ozan Kabak, leaving Vardy to run the ball into an empty net.
And Brendan Rodgers watched the Foxes rub salt in his former side’s wounds as Harvey Barnes applied a composed finish to Wilfred Ndidi’s pass with five minutes left.
Leicester go second while Liverpool’s third successive league defeat means their place in the top four looks in peril.
Follow Saturday’s Premier League gamesLawro’s Predictions v Mike Rosenberg aka PassengerLiverpool’s slide continuesLiverpool’s unimpressive defence of their Premier League title suffered more embarrassment as they cast aside a position of relative control at Leicester to capitulate at the first sign of a setback.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are unrecognisable from the overpowering combination of talent and concrete-clad self-belief that swept aside all challengers last season to win their first title in 30 years.
The Reds had plenty of possession, without much punch, until Salah put them ahead – and the warning signs had been posted in the first half when Vardy headed straight at Alisson and struck the bar with two chances he would normally have taken.
There was an element of controversy surrounding Maddison’s equaliser for Leicester but it was the lack of response – a total capitulation, in fact – that will be of huge concern to Klopp as his side lost a third successive league game for the first time since November 2014, when Rodgers was in charge.
Shearer asks where Liverpool’s pressing game has goneThe visitors’ slumped body language once they had conceded spoke volumes, and their recent decline was summed up by another Alisson error as he came dashing out and crashed into new loan signing Kabak in an incident that had trouble written all over it from the moment the Brazil keeper left his area.
He then redeemed himself with a magnificent save from Vardy but the game had already gone and Barnes was able to confirm Leicester’s win.
Of course, Liverpool will cite their lengthy injury list but the players currently in action must be doing better, with Thiago Alcantara, on as substitute for the injured James Milner, badly off the pace and losing possession on countless occasions.
This is the worst period of Klopp’s reign but Liverpool will have to pick themselves up instantly with a Champions League game against RB Leipzig and a Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield facing them in the next seven days.
Leicester dig deep for victoryJames Maddison (left) has scored more direct free-kick goals for Leicester in the Premier League than any other playerLeicester looked jaded after their midweek FA Cup exertions against Brighton and seemed to be heading for defeat when Salah put Liverpool in front – so it says much for their character that they fought back and cashed in ruthlessly when it counted.
Yes, Liverpool offered them a gift for the second goal but the hosts seemed to sense the champions had been badly hit by Maddison’s leveller and pounced for the three points that put them in second place at the final whistle.
It also meant Rodgers became the first former Liverpool manager to win against them in the Premier League since Roy Hodgson won with West Brom in April 2012.
Vardy proved his importance once more while Barnes, who struggled in the first half, showed his quality and determination in the second to show a touch of class for Leicester’s third.
It was a 4-0 thrashing here by Liverpool that signalled the beginning of the end of the Foxes’ title hopes last season – this victory will bolster their belief that they are very serious top-four contenders after missing out on the Champions League places on the final day of last season.
‘It is not that cool’ – reactionKlopp frustrated by Foxes’ ‘offside’ equaliserLiverpool boss Jurgen Klopp speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day: “It was a clear game that we should win.
“We played good football, dominated possession, took the game out of Leicester. Their first goal for me is offside. The difference is we think it’s an objective thing but it’s not. Three players offside, but it was decided to take another moment in the game. That is how it is.
“The second goal is a misunderstanding obviously. It is a situation where we should shout and I didn’t hear anyone shout. It is not that cool.
“The third goal I really don’t like. We are so open. I cannot accept. That was it. The performance for 75 minutes or so was outstanding then we lost 3-1. That shows what a tricky situation we are in.”
‘Our reaction was superb’ – Rodgers praises Leicester comebackLeicester manager Brendan Rodgers speaking to BBC’s Match of the Day: “It was a very good win, the players deserved it.
“We didn’t sink when we went a goal behind, we stayed calm and the players were brilliant in that period – a real collective team performance.
“You can see the improvement in the team’s mindset. Our reaction was superb.”
Reds leaking goals – statsKlopp became the ninth manager to take charge of 300 games for Liverpool in all competitions, while the German became the first Reds boss to lose his 300th match since Bill Shankly in 1965.Rodgers became the first former Liverpool manager to beat the Reds in the Premier League since Roy Hodgson did so with West Brom in April 2012.Liverpool have conceded seven goals in their past two Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 10. The Reds have conceded 32 goals in 24 league games this season, just one fewer than they did in the whole of 2019-20.Only against Arsenal (11) has Vardy scored more Premier League goals than he has against Liverpool (eight).Maddison has been involved in eight goals in his past nine Premier League games, scoring four and assisting four.Barnes has scored more Premier League goals (eight) than any other English midfielder this season.Salah became the first player to score 10 away goals in the Premier League this season.What’s next?Liverpool face RB Leipzig in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday (20:00 GMT) and Leicester play Slavia Prague in the Europa League last 32 on Thursday (17:55 GMT).
Player of the match
VardyJamie Vardy
with an average of 7.94
Leicester CitySquad number9Player nameVardy
Squad number25Player nameNdidi
Squad number15Player nameBarnes
Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel
Squad number10Player nameMaddison
Squad number4Player nameSöyüncü
Squad number21Player nameRicardo Pereira
Squad number8Player nameTielemans
Squad number6Player nameEvans
Squad number18Player nameAmartey
Squad number11Player nameAlbrighton
Squad number20Player nameChoudhury
Squad number24Player nameMendy
Squad number17Player nameAyoze Pérez
LiverpoolSquad number11Player nameMohamed Salah
Squad number9Player nameRoberto Firmino
Squad number14Player nameHenderson
Squad number10Player nameMané
Squad number26Player nameRobertson
Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold
Squad number17Player nameJones
Squad number5Player nameWijnaldum
Squad number19Player nameKabak
Squad number7Player nameMilner
Squad number6Player nameThiago Alcántara
Squad number15Player nameOxlade-Chamberlain
Squad number23Player nameShaqiri
Squad number1Player nameAlisson
Line-upsLeicesterFormation 4-2-3-1
1Schmeichel
18Amartey6Evans4Söyüncü21Ricardo Pereira
25Ndidi8Tielemans
11Albrighton10Maddison15Barnes
9Vardy
1Schmeichel18Amartey6EvansBooked at 43mins4Söyüncü21Ricardo Pereira25Ndidi8TielemansSubstituted forChoudhuryat 87’minutes11AlbrightonSubstituted forPérezat 74’minutesSubstituted forMendyat 90’minutes10Maddison15Barnes9VardySubstitutes12Ward14Iheanacho17Pérez19Ünder20Choudhury24Mendy28Fuchs33Thomas46Daley-CampbellLiverpoolFormation 4-3-3
1Alisson
66Alexander-Arnold19Kabak14Henderson26Robertson
7Milner5Wijnaldum17Jones
11Salah9Firmino10Mané
1Alisson66Alexander-Arnold19KabakBooked at 71mins14Henderson26Robertson7MilnerSubstituted forThiago Alcántaraat 17’minutes5WijnaldumSubstituted forShaqiriat 87’minutes17JonesBooked at 24minsSubstituted forOxlade-Chamberlainat 75’minutes11Salah9Firmino10ManéSubstitutes6Thiago Alcántara13Adrián15Oxlade-Chamberlain21Tsimikas23Shaqiri46R Williams47Phillips65Clarkson76N WilliamsLive TextMatch ends, Leicester City 3, Liverpool 1.
Second Half ends, Leicester City 3, Liverpool 1.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Ricardo Pereira.
Foul by Sadio Mané (Liverpool).
Çaglar Söyüncü (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Leicester City. Nampalys Mendy replaces Ayoze Pérez because of an injury.
Substitution, Leicester City. Hamza Choudhury replaces Youri Tielemans.
Substitution, Liverpool. Xherdan Shaqiri replaces Georginio Wijnaldum.
Goal! Leicester City 3, Liverpool 1. Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Wilfred Ndidi following a fast break.
Attempt saved. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Offside, Leicester City. James Maddison tries a through ball, but Jamie Vardy is caught offside.
Goal! Leicester City 2, Liverpool 1. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.
VAR Decision: Goal Leicester City 1-1 Liverpool (James Maddison).
Goal! Leicester City 1, Liverpool 1. James Maddison (Leicester City) from a free kick with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.Goal awarded following VAR Review.
VAR Decision: No Penalty Leicester City.
Foul by Thiago (Liverpool).
Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Liverpool. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Curtis Jones.
Substitution, Leicester City. Ayoze Pérez replaces Marc Albrighton.
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