Player Ratings: Leicester City 2–3 Liverpool

Leicester City

Kasper Schmeichel – 6

Arguably could have done more to stop Salah’s headed goal but was left helpless by Coutinho’s free-kick.

Danny Simpson – 6

Struggled against Liverpool’s attack-heavy left-side but stuck to his task and even got forward himself at times to provide attacking assistance to Vardy.

Wes Morgan – 6

Faced a more difficult attack than on Tuesday and looked cumbersome on occasion but did stand firm to Liverpool’s constant attacks.

Harry Maguire – 7

He again impressed with his resolute defending and was a threat to Liverpool’s defence at set-pieces but did give the ball away for Henderson’s goal.

Ben Chilwell – 5

Was happier when he was attacking rather than defending – found it relatively easy to attack against Gomez but stopping Salah was more of an issue.

Andy King – 6

An evening of toil for the central midfielder – played some nice passes towards Vardy but most of his time was spent closing down Henderson.

Marc Albrighton – 6

Was forced to help out his struggling right-back against the pace and talent of Salah thus his attacking play was limited.

Riyad Mahrez – 5

Virtually anonymous throughout – the game seemed to pass him by.

Wilfred Ndidi – 5

Wasn’t afraid of getting stuck into tackles early on but his yellow card in the first-half meant he had to rein in his challenges and was forced to find another method of limiting Coutinho’s influence

Shinji Okazaki – 7

An all-action display by the Japanese international – saw a lot of the ball and was a threat to the Liverpool defence, scored Leicester’s first goal to gave his side hope going in at half-time

Jamie Vardy – 7

Scored Leicester’s second but could not get their third from the penalty spot after being brought down by Mignolet

Liverpool

Simon Mignolet – 7

Was kept busy by Leicester’s attack and forced to make some good saves, however, his reluctance to catch the ball gifted Vardy Leicester’s second goal and gave away a penalty for which he was lucky to not be sent off but did manage to stop Leicester levelling by saving the spot-kick.

Joe Gomez – 6

Still underwhelms when he plays – looked nervy and was caught out of possession on occasions, most notably for Leicester’s second goal.

Joel Matip – 6

Liverpool’s most consistent centre-back was tested by Leicester’s attack, Vardy in particular.

Dejan Lovren – 5

During the opening minutes he cleared the ball out of play under no pressure and gave away possession on the edge of the area, also received a yellow card for dissent early in the second-half.

Alberto Moreno – 6

Had positive flurries of attacking runs and provided plenty of support to Coutinho on the left, however, did leave the left-side of the defence exposed at times – a consequence of his attack-minded approach to defending.

Emre Can – 7

Had a shot cannon off the post in the first-half but was guilty of a handball in the penalty area during the second-half that should have resulted in a second Leicester penalty.

Jordan Henderson – 8

Scored Liverpool’s third but did so much more – he ensured Liverpool hung on to the three points with a renewed sense of leadership that he has been lacking lately.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 6

Another quiet game, however, did almost manage to get his first away goal for Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah – 7

Scored Liverpool’s first goal with a header from an acute angle which was a more difficult opportunity than the one he missed from five yards moments earlier.

Roberto Firmino – 6

Another player who is underwhelming at the moment – his contribution was poor and at times it felt like Liverpool were playing with a front two, not a front three; was replaced by Sturridge just after the hour-mark and the contrast was telling.

Philippe Coutinho – 7

His most impressive match so far this season – provided the assist for Salah’s goal and scored a beautiful free-kick from twenty-yards to give Liverpool a two-goal lead.

Oliver Miller

FoL's Matchday Correspondent @oliver_miller

Everton

Are Everton on Track to Become Proper Rivals For Liverpool Again?

There are some older Liverpool supporters who would be happy to see Everton finish second every season as long as the Reds won the league, believing that it would be a good thing for the city in general. There are more modern ones who would also be happy to see Everton finish second every season, […]

Read More
liverpool v leicester december 2022 klopp and rodgers

The Klopp Legacy: What Liverpool Now Look Like After Jürgen

When Jürgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool for his first press conference in October 2015 – with that signature grin, albeit without the new gnashers – he promised to turn the doubters into believers. Even the most infuriatingly positive fans could have predicted that Klopp’s ‘heavy metal’ football would result in one of the most successful […]

Read More
Liverpool Champions Premier League

Surely Liverpool Won’t Bottle the League?

With Liverpool having exited the Champions League and lost the League Cup final to Saudi Arabian sports-washing operation Newcastle United in the space of a week, the feeling around Anfield was briefly one of doom and gloom. Outside voices began to declare that the 2024-2025 campaign was turning into a ‘disappointing’ one for the Reds, […]

Read More