Liverpool defeated Leicester City 2-1 at Anfield to record their fourth straight Premier League victory and give Jurgen Klopp a major confidence boost heading into 2023.
It wasn’t a comfortable evening for the home side, however, with some terrible defending giving Leicester the lead courtesy of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the fourth minute of the match.
Defender Wout Faes became just the fourth player to score two own goals in Premier League history as Liverpool went into the interval leading 2-1.
The second half saw the Anfield side register 12 shots in total but fail to extend their advantage, however, it was a hard-earned three points from Klopp’s men and takes them to sixth spot in the table, just two points outside of a Champions League place.
Darwin Nunez could have scored a couple of goals and having hit the woodwork once and taking a total of seven shots, Klopp will be expecting him to improve ahead of the next match.
The club’s best player on the night was Thiago, with the Spaniard controlling the midfield throughout the match, taking 112 touches in total.
He made 81 passes, completed two key passes, succeeded with 11 of his 15 long ball attempts, and had his only shot blocked, but his passing ability was excellent throughout and was integral to Liverpool maintaining their narrow advantage.
Defensively, the 30-year-old was outstanding, making four tackles, three interceptions, blocking a shot, and winning 12 out of his 16 duels – a success rate of 75% – proving that when he is in the mood, he can be Liverpool’s best player in the side.
The Anfield Watch declared Thiago as “the best player on the pitch tonight” and judging by his statistics, it’s hard to argue with the praise.
Liverpool are coming into some solid league form just when it is beginning to matter and with a run of fixtures next that include matches against Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Brighton and Hove Albion, Klopp will be eyeing a top-four spot by the end of January.
Source: footballfancast.com
