Grandstanding Liverpool leave Leicester chasing shadows

This was one of the three fixtures Leicester lost last season but they did not lose it like this. “They punished us,” Kasper Schmeichel said. “They are a good side, very fluid, lots of movement. They move the ball very quickly and have pace to burn on the wings. They cut inside a lot and it is very difficult to defend against.”

For all that, the Leicester goalkeeper suggested it was not a 4-1 game, and that the visitors might have made life less comfortable for a Liverpool side grandstanding at the opening of their expanded stadium had Jamie Vardy accepted a gilt-edged chance after an hour when the score was 3-1.

They might, though what Schmeichel failed to add was that the passage of play was the only time in the game when Leicester looked like their old selves from last season. It was the only occasion when an otherwise subdued Riyad Mahrez sprang to life, and when his cross from the right found Vardy in front of goal, based on the evidence accumulated last season anyone would have put money on him scoring. Instead his attempt found Simon Mignolet’s outstretched boot and Leicester resigned themselves to a comprehensive beating.

Make no mistake, the scoreline by no means flattered Liverpool. Had the outstanding Jordan Henderson kept his shot on target when he seemed certain to score just before the end, instead of blazing high into the Kop like an overexcited schoolboy on sight of an open goal, a 5-1 margin of victory would have been a fair reflection of Liverpool’s superiority.

“We scored some wonderful goals,” Jürgen Klopp said, which was true. Roberto Firmino was responsible for two with a couple of calm finishes, though it was the home debutant Sadio Mané, scorer of one and maker of another, who left the field to a standing ovation when brought off a few minutes from the end. Invited to wax lyrical about Firmino and Mané, Klopp declined. “What about Adam Lallana?” he replied. It was a fair point.

All Liverpool’s players deserved praise, not least Lucas Leiva at centre‑half, despite the momentary miscontrol that let Vardy put Leicester back into the match just before half-time. Standing in for the injured Dejan Lovren the less than imposing Brazilian gave a good account of himself as emergency stopper. The mistake that led to the Leicester goal was simply a mistake – it had nothing to do with him being played out of position. “I was sure Lucas could fill in for us, I am really happy about his performance,” Klopp said. “That is a difficult position for a non-specialist to fill but in a tough situation it is great to have a character like him to turn to. It was brilliant.”

The only surprise, considering Lucas’s lack of height, was that after Robert Huth had managed to hit the bar from a Luis Hernández long throw in the first half Leicester did not threaten more from aerial set pieces. Yet apart from the brief period of Liverpool uncertainty after Vardy’s goal, the visitors were always chasing the game.

Leicester kept most of their signings under wraps, possibly with an eye on Europe, while Liverpool allowed Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum to sparkle, with the former in particular instantly winning over the home crowd. “I am in a good way at the moment – when you play in a stadium like Anfield you want to give your best,” the former Southampton player said. “I am still learning how to fit into the team, it still needs more work in training, but having great players like Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino around you makes it easier.”

Liverpool are not just about new faces, though, and the contributions of the old hands James Milner and Henderson to this victory should not be underestimated. It was Milner’s pass that took out most of the Leicester defence for the first goal, leaving Firmino only Huth and then Schmeichel to beat, and Henderson’s perfectly weighted chip forward that allowed Sturridge to play in Mané for the second.

Milner and Henderson were both involved in the patient buildup that led to Lallana’s well-struck third, though the final pass came from Wijnaldum, and it was the captain’s pass out of defence that enabled Mané to round a hopelessly stranded Schmeichel to set up Firmino for the last. Schmeichel was miles out of his area at the time. Coupled with events at Old Trafford, it was not a great day in the north-west for free-range goalkeepers.

“We lost our way,” Claudio Ranieri said after revealing the new signing Islam Slimani arrived too late to join in training but should be available to play at Club Brugge on Wednesday. “We were expecting this kind of football from Liverpool but on the day they were inspired. Everything they tried to do came off and it was difficult for us to stop them.”

Source: Guardian

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