Liverpool produced a dominant performance in beating Leicester 3-0 at Anfield even without some of their star names. Could the depth provided by players such as Diogo Jota and James Milner hold the key to their title defence this season?
New Year’s Day, 2018. Turf Moor. That was the last time that Liverpool went into a Premier League game without either Virgil van Dijk or Mohamed Salah in their starting line-up.
Ragnar Klavan’s stoppage-time winner secured the three points for Jurgen Klopp’s side that day against Burnley but nothing quite so dramatic was required to see off Leicester.
Jonny Evans’ own goal put Liverpool ahead inside 21 minutes and Diogo Jota’s header doubled the advantage just before the interval.
There was no way back for Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester. Roberto Firmino’s late header sealed an emphatic victory. The win lifts the reigning champions up to second in the table with only goal difference preventing them knocking Tottenham off top spot.
This was a daunting looking fixture against the team that came into the weekend as the Premier League leaders, boasting a 100-per-cent record away from home this season. A record that included an emphatic 5-2 win over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
The manner in which Jamie Vardy had cut through Pep Guardiola’s team, coupled with the problems that Liverpool had experienced controlling the counter-attack at Aston Villa even with their stars, raised the prospect of that rarest of occurrences – a home defeat.
Instead, they negotiated the game with ease on a record-breaking night at Anfield in which Liverpool extended their unbeaten home run to 64 league games. It was a reminder that, whatever the line-up, the champions remain the team to beat this season.
Right from the outset, Leicester focused their attacks down Liverpool’s right, where James Milner was starting for the first time this season in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Sixty-six percent of the attacks came down that flank with just 14 per cent on the other side.
“Maybe they are trying to exploit the fact that Liverpool have a makeshift full-back,” said Jamie Carragher. “But you cannot really call him makeshift because he plays every position.”
Milner more than did a job, he shone, constantly feeding the forwards with measured balls upfield. He helped create openings for Jota, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, as well as providing the corners from which Evans headed past his own goalkeeper and Firmino added the third.