Simon Mignolet saved Jamie Vardy’s penalty as Liverpool held on to claim a thrilling 3-2 victory against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium this evening.
The Reds had gone 2-0 up through Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho before another set-piece blunder right before half time allowed Shinji Okazaki to pull one back for the home side.
Liverpool countered to make it 3-1 through Jordan Henderson before Vardy reduced the deficit again just moments later, but the England striker messed up the chance to make it 3-3 from the spot as Jurgen Klopp picked up three valuable points.
Star man – Philippe Coutinho
Showing precisely why Barcelona were willing to spend as much as £150million on him this summer, Coutinho got back to his best in a Liverpool shirt in tonight’s game.
Rumours circulated towards the end of the summer that the Brazilian could go on strike at Anfield this season in a bid to force his way out of the club, but that’s clearly all behind him now as he gets back to doing what he does best on the football pitch.
First, Coutinho drifted in from the left to set up Salah’s opening goal with an inch-perfect cross, and he then produced a real moment of magic to make it 2-0 with a stunning free-kick.
Failed to impress – Riyad Mahrez
Hooked off after just 60 minutes, Riyad Mahrez was totally invisible against Liverpool this evening.
Frustrated after failing to get a transfer to a bigger club this summer, the Algerian will have to do a lot better than this in the big games if he is to ever play for a top club.
With no dribbles completed, just one shot, a pass success rate of just 69% and next to no work rate to track back, this was about as bad as you can imagine from a man who won PFA Player of the Year less than 18 months ago.
What surprised us – Mohamed Salah’s finishing
The Egyptian winger has been superb for Liverpool in most games this season, but doubts remain over his finishing despite a fine scoring record for a winger.
One of those players capable of moments of brilliance and of messing up the simplest things in equal measure, Salah had a couple of minutes to sum him up in the first half.
First, he somehow steered his shot wide when presented with a glorious chance from close range after Emre Can’s shot hit the post and fell right to him.
Moments later, he steered in a header from a near-impossible angle to give Liverpool the lead. Hey, if it works, who’s complaining?
What didn’t surprise us – Liverpool’s set-piece weaknesses
There are legitimate questions to be asked of Shinji Okazaki, who looked to be fouling Simon Mignolet in the build-up, but there’s no doubt the Reds looked unconvincing defending a set-piece once again.
2-0 up and comfortable in the first half, Liverpool should have had the game out of sight before the half-time whistle, but always seem to gift their opponents hope by their sloppy organisation and lack of authority in these situations.
Mignolet had a typically erratic game, conceding and then saving a penalty in the second half, but it’s not the first and surely won’t be the last time that he looked unsure of what he was doing and where he was supposed to be at the crucial moment.
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