Leicester City vs Liverpool: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis, Premier League 2018/19

Liverpool won their fourth straight game at the start of the Premier League season, with goals from Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane giving Jurgen Klopp's side a good cushion at half-time.

Andy Robertson surged up on the left flank, and past Ricardo Pereira, before crossing into the box, for Mane to easily slot past Kasper Schmeichel and give the Reds a perfect start.

Firmino doubled the lead just before half-time, as he easily found space in the box to head home a James Milner corner for his first goal of the season.

The second half began with Leicester putting more pressure on the Reds, and they were gifted a way back into the game by Liverpool's new goalkeeper Alisson Becker. When he should have just cleared the ball, Alisson dwelt on it for far too long and allowed Kelechi Iheanacho to steal the ball and set up Rachid Ghezzal's first Premier League goal for the club.

Here are the five biggest talking points from the game.

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#5 Alisson Becker is brought down to earth

Alisson's calamitous error didn't cost Liverpool points in the end

Alisson started life in the Premier League in the best possible way, with three clean sheets in his first three games. The Brazilian was arguably the difference between a draw and a win in Liverpool's last two games, as he made two crucial late saves to deny Crystal Palace and Brighton.

Even in this game, he was being his typical self, as he was commanding when crosses came into the box, made some saves look a lot simpler than they actually were.

But in the 65th minute, it all came crashing down for the Brazilian, in a moment of madness. Jordan Henderson played an awful back-pass to Virgil van Dijk. The big Dutchman then proceeded to overhit a back-pass to the goalkeeper, and then it was compounded by Alisson trying a Cruyff turn with Iheanacho in close attendance.

The Nigerian stole the ball away and set Ghezzal up to slot into an empty net to make it 2-1.

Klopp did say last week, after Alisson chipped the ball over a rushing Brighton attacker, that he did not like what he saw in that specific moment, and his belief would only have been strengthened by that moment in this game.

Alisson is a very good goalkeeper, with a supreme belief in his ability with the ball at his feet. But sometimes, the confidence turns into cockiness, and that's where the troubles begin for any player.

This is a good wake-up call for Alisson, and he'll be thanking his lucky stars that his mistake didn't cost the Reds any points on the day.

#4 Leicester get it wrong without Jamie Vardy

Kelechi Iheanacho made a difference for the Foxes after he came on

In the absence of the suspended Jamie Vardy, Claude Puel got things all wrong at the start of the game. Kelechi Iheanacho was an obvious replacement for Vardy up front, given his power and ability to run in behind the Liverpool defence.

But Puel went with Demarai Gray in the central position, with James Maddison behind him. Gray is the kind of player who likes to come short to receive the ball and run with it, but those weren't the attributes Leicester needed from their lone striker.

Gray made only one run in behind the Liverpool defenders, and he managed to get a shot away, only to see it saved by Alisson. Given that he saw success while running in behind, it was puzzling that Gray didn't do it more often.

Iheanacho came on early in the second half to replace Marc Albrighton and immediately made an impact. He gave Van Dijk and Joe Gomez much more work to do at the back.

It was from the Nigerian's pressing that Leicester got themselves the goal too. But in the end, it wasn't enough, as the Reds did just enough to hold on.

Puel might just be thinking what would have been had he started with the Nigerian striker and played Gray on the left wing, where he is at his best.

#3 Liverpool were dire in midfield

Jordan Henderson allowed James Maddison too much space in midfield

Jurgen Klopp made a change to his starting XI for the first time this season, as he relegated Naby Keita to the bench to hand club captain Jordan Henderson his first start of the season. It was a move that didn't pay dividends as Liverpool looked disjointed throughout the game.

Gini Wijnaldum had done a stellar job as the deepest-lying midfielder in the first three games, but Henderson's inclusion meant he had to play further forward. It seemed to disrupt his rhythm as he couldn't impose himself on the game.

But the worst performance of the day came from Henderson, who did absolutely nothing that is expected of a deepest-lying midfield player. His passing was lazy and far too safe. And he never once helped set Liverpool on their way forward.

More importantly, he was all over the place in a defensive sense. Maddison, in the no.10 role for Leicester, was getting an immense amount of joy because he was afforded generous amount of space by Henderson.

The pockets of space that no.10s get so much joy in were not cut off once by Henderson, which caused them massive problems as soon as Leicester started attacking in the second half.

Henderson compounded his afternoon by playing a horrible pass to Van Dijk, leading eventually to the error that Alisson made. He was rightly substituted to be replaced by Keita, who brought the Reds more control of possession in the last 25 minutes.

#2 Liverpool's counter-attacks were not a threat

Mohamed Salah had one of his worst games in a red shirt

Rightly, Liverpool were called the Red Arrows last season, for their absolutely thrilling ability to destroy teams on the counter-attack with their pace and precision. But all that went wrong in this game.

Liverpool's breaks weren't broken down by brilliant Leicester defending but by their own lack of clear decision-making. The chief culprit in that was Mohamed Salah, who had one of his worst games in a Liverpool shirt.

Salah's struggles started very early in the game when he missed a huge chance to score after Kasper Schmeichel had saved Firmino's shot. With the goal at his mercy, Salah somehow contrived to put the ball wide.

There were several other moments in the game when Liverpool's counter-attacks were broken down by Salah's incorrect decision-making or poor passing.

The most blatant one of them came early in the second half after James Milner had dispossessed Nampalys Mendy in the middle of the park. The Englishman drove forward before giving it to Salah, who had Leicester at his mercy, and enough options to pass the ball to.

Both Firmino and Mane had made runs on the left side, but Salah tried the more difficult reverse pass behind him to Milner and the attack broke down.

On several other occasions, elementary passes were made a mess of and it didn't help that Mane was a little lazy, as he refused to chase some balls that could easily have been retrieved.

#1 Liverpool's perfect start

Klopp will be thrilled by Joe Gomez's start to the season

For the first time since the 1990/91 season, Liverpool have won their first four league games of the season. The levels of performance have not yet hit the heights they did at some points last season, but that will not be a huge cause for concern for Klopp just yet.

It is a cliche that champions have to win even when they're not playing at their best, and that has been true for Liverpool, especially in their last two games. The Reds now head into a decisive phase of their season, with seven games in 23 days against top-quality opposition.

The biggest plus for Klopp has been finding what has seemed to be a fantastic centre-back partnership. It is a position that has troubled Liverpool for too long, and it needed to be fixed.

Virgil van Dijk has obviously come in and made a huge impact, but so far this season, it's his partner Joe Gomez who has impressed the most.

He showed the composure of a veteran in only his eighth appearance at centre-back for the Reds. He read the game brilliantly, was calm in possession of the ball, and looked reasonably good in the air as well. His aerial ability can only be looked at as a positive, given that it is one of his well-documented weaknesses.

Klopp knows that performance levels are going to have to improve after the international break. But, for now, he's going to rest happy knowing his side have made the perfect start to the season.