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Saturday's featured clash between Liverpool and Leicester City saw Jurgen Klopp's side pick up a 2-1 victory in their latest Premier League clash, with Sadio Mane and James Milner finding the net for the hosts. The win saw Liverpool open up an eight-point gap over Manchester City, who face the Wolves at the Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool took 40 minutes to breach a well organised Leicester defence, after James Milner's wonderfully weighted through ball found Sadio Mane, who slotted it past Kasper Schmeichel, thereby scoring his 50th league goal for The Reds. The initial exchanges saw Leicester's midfield and defence hold their shape, which led to Liverpool to attack through the wings.
The second half saw Liverpool control possession and thwart Leicester's midfield from feeding the likes of Jamie Vardy, who looked isolated against the pairing of Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk. Despite controlling the game, Liverpool lacked the incisiveness to make the final pass that could have furthered Liverpool's advantage.
Leicester scored the equalizer from their first meaningful attack when James Maddison scored past Adrian in the 80th minute. Liverpool looked like dropping their first points of the season but were awarded a penalty in the dying seconds of the game when Marc Albrighton brought down Sadio Mane in the penalty box. James Milner scored the ensuing penalty which saw the hosts secure their eighth win of the season in as many games.
Here is a look at the talking points from the game at Anfield.
#5 Liverpool's organization key in securing eight win of the season
During Jurgen Klopp's tenure, Liverpool have transformed from a team playing with a gung-ho approach to a side that emphasizes on the overall organization. Such tactical tweaks have seen Liverpool somewhat perfect the art of grinding out wins even while not at their scintillating best.
This organized approach played a key role in helping Liverpool secure victory against Brendan Rodger's side. Jurgen Klopp made two changes to the side that took to field against RB Salzburg, with James Milner and Dejan Lovren coming in place of Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez respectively.
Liverpool's midfield trio of Fabinho, Milner and Wijnaldum prevented Leicester's midfielders from linking up with the forwards by cutting off all passing lanes. They also used their work rate to aid Liverpool's rearguard while Leicester were on the counter. Fabinho played a role in marshalling James Maddison for most parts of the game. The Brazilian broke up several attacking advances by making some crucial interceptions in midfield.
In addition to the shift put in by the midfield, Liverpool's centre backs put in a brilliant display whilst coming up against a tricky striker in Jamie Vardy. Dejan Lovren was a standout performer against The Foxes. The Croatian international, who played his first game since the 2-0 win against MK Dons in the Carabao Cup, was composed while in possession and made many crucial tackles in key areas of the pitch.
Another key aspect in the game was the willingness of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino to drop deep and contribute defensively. There were certain instances when Mane dropped deep and prevented Ben Chilwell from delivering some teasing deliveries into the box.
Overall, the willingness of the team to defend in numbers was key in securing a 2-1 win over Leicester City.
#4 Lack of creativity saw Leicester suffer a narrow defeat against Liverpool
Leicester City have emerged as surprise contenders for a top-four spot after putting in a series of brilliant performances against Tottenham and Newcastle. Brendan Rodgers has brought in an attacking brand of football in Leicester, which sees them placed at third spot after eight games.
Saturday's performance against Liverpool was one in which The Foxes lacked creativity and did not trouble Liverpool's defence for most of the game. Their first shot on target was their goal, ten minutes from time when James Maddison slotted past Adrian.
Coming up against a resolute midfield trio of Milner, Fabinho and Wijnaldum, players such as Praet, Maddison and Tielemans found it difficult to operate between the lines as the passing channels were cut off by Liverpool's midfield trio. This resulted in the Leicester midfield unable to feed the likes of Vardy and Barnes, both of whom did little in the game and were left isolated against the duo of Lovren and van Dijk.
Despite scoring the equalizer, Leicester's creator-in-chief James Maddison found it tough to bypass Liverpool's midfield due to the presence of Fabinho, who used his positional sense to great effect to break up numerous Leicester attacks.
The lack of control in midfield and cheap concession of possession in the middle saw Leicester create very little, thereby leaving Vardy with scraps to feed on. Leicester should have played with a little more bravery in Liverpool's half if they wanted to get anything out of the game.
To avoid defeat, Leicester should have probed Liverpool's defence a little more, as it was clear from the game that the visitors' first real chance came in the 80th minute through James Maddison's equalizer.
#3 Tactical tweaks coupled with performances of Milner and Lovren help Liverpool secure three points
Two important factors that played an important role in helping Liverpool win were some tactical tweaks and performances of Lovren and Milner.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made two changes to the starting eleven with Dejan Lovren and James Milner coming in for Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson respectively. Both Milner and Lovren justified their selections and had excellent outings against Leicester.
Lovren was a rock in defence alongside Virgil van Dijk, looking composed in possession and one v ones throughout the game. Lovren made quite a few important tackles and interceptions while coming up against Barnes, Maddison and Vardy. The Croatian carefully tracked the movements of Vardy and came up with a tackle of interception whenever a through ball was aimed for the striker.
Coming to the numbers, Lovren ended the game with a pass accuracy rate of 88%, made four recoveries, two interceptions and won 5/6 aerial duels. On the other hand, James Milner added steel to Liverpool's midfield and played an important part in recycling possession. Along with this, Milner provided a delightful assist to Sadio Mane for the opening goal and scored the all-important penalty that ensured Liverpool's perfect start to the season was maintained.
Talking about some of the tactical changes in position observed in the game, Sadio Mane operated from the right-wing, with Roberto Firmino operating as a left-winger. These changes were made to stop Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira from making their overlapping runs or put in some teasing deliveries.
#2 Leicester almost secure draw, but concede a silly penalty in the death
Despite creating fewer opportunities against Liverpool, Leicester put in a solid defensive shift, with Johnny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu shining for Brendan Rodgers' side. Despite a valiant defensive display, a momentary lapse in concentration from Marc Albrighton saw Liverpool awarded a late penalty that was dispatched by James Milner.
Brendan Rodgers opted to approach the game with a 4-1-4-1 formation which would change into a 4-2-3-1 formation with Youri Tielemans dropping deep to assist Wilfried Ndidi in midfield. Both midfielders had decent outings as they made some vital interceptions to stop Wijnaldum and Milner from taking up advanced positions and link Liverpool's attacking moves.
Centre backs Evans and Soyuncu did well to ensure that the likes of Salah and Firmino did not have enough joy in the final third. Soyuncu marshalled Salah to great effect after being brushed aside by the Egyptian in the initial exchanges. Many teasing crosses from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson were cleared or headed away by both centre backs.
Although Leicester's midfield and the defence did well for a majority of the game, they failed to track Mane's run into the penalty box before he was tripped by Albrighton in the penalty box during stoppage time. The Leicester players in the box must have done better to hold their nerve and secure a valuable point away from home. This was the fine line that separated both teams.
Overall, Leicester must concentrate for the entire duration of the game and improve on their away form if they want to challenge for a spot in the top four, as it is these fine margins that have a vital say in which sides finish top four, come the end of the season.
#1 Liverpool's never say die attitude takes them over the finish line
The current season has seen some elite mentality showcased by current leaders Liverpool, who have more or less mastered the art of grinding out wins even when they aren't at their scintillating best. Liverpool's game against Leicester is a testament of how far The Reds have progressed since the end of Brendan Rodgers' reign.
Liverpool took the lead five minutes from half time when Sadio Mane guided the ball past Kasper Schmeichel, following Milner's perfectly weighted through ball. The hosts remained resolute for a majority of the game but were opened up in the 80th minute when Maddison scored Leicester's equalizer.
Before Leicester's equalizer, Liverpool had some glorious chances to increase their advantage through Milner, Firmino and van Dijk. The drawback with Liverpool's performance against Leicester was their inability to provide the final pass that would lead to a goal. Liverpool were punished for their inability to put the game to bed. In spite of some close misses, Liverpool conjured the spirit to stage a dramatic comeback in the death.
Post Leicester's equalizer, Liverpool attacked with a new found vigour which was dealt with by Leicester's back four. This resulted in silly fouls being conceded by Leicester in key areas of the pitch. Leicester were ultimately undone in the 93rd minute when Marc Albrighton failed to clear the ball from the penalty box and conceded the all-important penalty when he brought down Mane.
James Milner stepped up to take the ensuing penalty and dispatched it with a cool demeanour that seasoned professionals possess. The entire game encapsulated Liverpool's never say die attitude, a key ingredient for teams challenging for top honours.
