February 11, (THEWILL) – With a game in hand over the table leaders, Liverpool cruised to a 2-0 victory over Leicester in the Premier League, closing the distance to nine points on leaders Manchester City.
Diogo Jota continued his sensational form in front of goal as he scored his 11th and 12th Premier League goals of the season to ensure the Reds did not suffer another defeat at the King Power Stadium.
In the opening exchanges, Alisson denied Leicester’s James Maddison a great early chance. Kasper Schmeichel’s strong wrists denied Trent Alexander Arnold’s effort as he cut inside onto his left foot on the other end.
Brendan Rodgers made a number of changes following his team’s FA Cup embarrassment and it was working until Liverpool went ahead from a set piece. Wilfred Ndidi lost track of Virgil van Dijk, whose header was parried into the path of Jota the poacher.
Neat and quick interplay between Jota and Roberto Firmino almost gave Liverpool a second at the end of the first half, with Schmeichel equal to it. A fingertip save from the Dane then stopped Jota in the opening exchanges of the second. Robertson was also repelled soon after.
Rodgers switched things up to try and get back into the game by bringing on Youri Tielemans and Kelechi Iheanacho. At the same time, Jurgen Klopp gave the Anfield crowd what they wanted when he turned to Mohamed Salah, back just four days after the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The Egyptian did not see much of the ball at first, but when he got one on one with Schmeichel, he became the latest Liverpool player to draw a top Schmeichel save. Salah then hit the post and bar, while Luis Diaz, making his Premier League debut, was twice denied by Schmeichel.
Liverpool’s second goal came at the conclusion of the game, and it was a team effort. Fabinho won possession, while Joel Matip supplied the last ball for Jota to spin into the bottom corner and seal the victory.
The Reds were able to hold off the visitors with relative ease at the back, securing their third win in a row in the Premier League. Brendan Rodgers’ club has now lost three of their past four matches in all competitions, therefore the attention will be on him.
On Sunday, both teams are back in Premier League action, with Liverpool travelling to Burnley and Leicester hosting West Ham United.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
