Liverpool's Title Hopes Dented After Leicester Loss
29 December, 2021
Liverpool lost some ground in the Premier League title race after falling to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Leicester City.
Premier League
Result: Leicester City 1-0 Liverpool
Date: 28 December 2021
Venue: King Power Stadium
Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho were back in the line-up after missing the last two encounters, while the Foxes re-called Jamie Vardy after the loss to Manchester City over the weekend.
The Reds were a penalty after 14 minutes when Wilfried Ndid brought down Mohamed Salah in the box. The Egyptian stepped up but saw his spot-kick saved by Kasper Schmeichel while he nodded the rebound onto the crossbar.
Salah had a chance to redeem himself in the 31st minute after latching onto a loose ball in the box, but Schmeichel produced a fine one-hand save to deny the Liverpool attacker.
Leicester, meanwhile, showed glimpses of their attack on the counter but they were ultimately let down by their decision-making as Reds goalkeeper Alisson Becker barley had a save to make.
The Reds carried that dominance into the second half and should have taken the lead on 54 minutes when Sadio Mane was slipped through on goal, but the Senegalese blazed over the crossbar with only Schmeichel to beat.
Liverpool were made to rue that missed chance four minutes later when substitute Ademola Lookman surged past Joel Matip before firing home at Alisson's near post.
Klopp responded with a double change after that as James Milner and Roberto Firmino were introduced at the expense of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho for the final 20 minutes.
The Reds threw everything forward in search of an equalising goal in the closing stages of the second stanza, but the Foxes defence did great to hold out until the final whistle.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za