Reds chase for Europe in a victory made in Liverpool
Leicester City 0 Liverpool 3, 15th May 2023.
Leicester City 0 Liverpool 3, 15th May 2023.
LEICESTER CITY 0
LIVERPOOL 3 (Jones 33 and 36, Alexander-Arnold 71)
The opening half an hour this evening at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium was a “dog with fleas”. Abject with a capital A. Dreadful with a capital D or just plain awful. On the back of their recent humiliating defeat at Fulham, the home team “Foxes” were dogged, determined, physical and snapping into tackles of a bitty, non-event of a game and in a game they simply had to win to ward off the horrible spectre of a seemingly certain relegation through the trapdoor into The Championship. The visiting Reds of Liverpool arrived on a 6 game winning streak but for half an hour were bogged down in a physical game they simply hadn’t started or got to grips with.
Enter Belgian central defender Wout Faes, he of the two own goals and two Christmas presents delivered to the Reds at Anfield in the previous league fixture in December 2022. He allowed Alisson Becker’s straight long ball into the heart of the Leicester defensive third of the field to bounce rather than deal with a fairly rudimentary clearance and seconds later, and just four quick touches of the ball from Luis Díaz, Jordan Henderson, Mo Salah and a sublime first time half-volley from Curtis Jones, his team trailed. 3 minutes and 7 quick fire touches of the ball from Jordan Henderson, Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah later, Jones arguably scored an even better second goal, this time a volley he set up himself on the turn before rasping a drive past the flailing dive of Leicester goalkeeper Daniel Iversen, and the team in all blue began to crumble once more, their early optimism and physical approach draining away until the boos that greeted them at the half-time whistle.
The Reds second goal on 36 minutes was also the cue for the hordes in the Away End to break into their songbook with an early rendition of “Show Them The Way To Go Home” before the even more cutting “You’re Going Down With The Blue Shite” before the second half became a slow, lingering death for the Leicester Foxes as the Reds in the Away End serenaded Roberto Firmino with an almost constant rendition of his beautiful song ahead of the Brazilian legend’s sad impending departure in the summer.
In amongst the singing reminders of Leicester’s soon to be relegation into the country’s most difficult league to positively escape back out of, the Reds seventh consecutive victory, and at an aggregate overall score line of 20 goals scored and just 7 conceded, was the most beautiful of rubber stamps from Trent Alexander-Arnold that ensured this evening’s victory really was made in Liverpool. Mo Salah’s hat-trick of assists was the simplest of the 3 as he nudged a free-kick into the path of the 24 year old Liverpudlian, and he curled a stunning shot into the top corner of the Leicester net to join the brace of goals from 22 year old fellow Liverpudlian Curtis Jones.
3 easy Premier League points — Made in Liverpool.
Leicester City aren’t mathematically relegated but they are as good as doomed to falling through that dark trapdoor into The Championship and despite the travelling Kop’s songs, they’ll be taking the place seemingly reserved for Everton until very recently, and not joining them. A Leicester victory this evening would have seen them swapping places with the Reds city neighbours in Blue, and the irony is Liverpool may well have preserved Everton’s Premier League status for another season at least.
Far, far more importantly than helping their neighbours across Stanley Park is the Reds seventh consecutive Premier League victory and hope springs eternal that either Newcastle United or Manchester United “do a Devon Loch” and collapse in the home straight with the finish line in sight, allowing the Reds to tiptoe past them into the Champions League places.
It’s a long shot, and all eyes now turn to the team in form, Brighton, and their visit to Newcastle on Thursday evening. After their dismantling of Arsenal at the weekend, who’s to say they won’t break Newcastle hearts too?
Time will tell.
It always does.
Thanks for reading. There is a wealth of past and present articles on Liverpool FC within my library here or alternatively, here are my three most recently published articles from this season:
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