Leicester vs Liverpool result: Five things we learned as Foxes earn comeback win over the Reds

Leicester 3-1 Liverpool: Salah’s opener cancelled out by Maddison, before Vardy and Barnes win it late on

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Leicester came from behind to beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Reds dominated the opening exchanges, though James Maddison had the first real attempt with a shot from inside his own half. That didn’t trouble Alisson and neither did efforts from Mohamed Salah and an attempted slide from Sadio Mane unduly worry Kasper Schmeichel.

Jamie Vardy headed one effort on target and Andy Robertson sent a deflected effort just wide, but the biggest chance came right at the end of the half as Jamie Vardy smashed against the crossbar when through one-on-one.

READ MORE: Premier League fixtures and table - all matches by date and kick-off time

Trent Alexander-Arnold was next to hit the woodwork, from a free-kick around the hour mark, before a brilliant piece of attacking play saw Roberto Firmino tee up a Salah first-time finish into the far corner for the opener. But a James Maddison free-kick cross flew in past everybody for an equaliser before a collision between Alisson and Ozan Kabak a minute later gave Jamie Vardy a tap-in, with Harvey Barnes wrapping the game up in the final five minutes as Liverpool collapsed.

Here are five things we learned from the game at the King Power Stadium.

Defensive alterations

Much of the season for Liverpool has revolved around, well, a revolving cast in the back line.

It was no different here, with Ozan Kabak coming in for his debut to form yet another new central defensive pairing. He fared largely well, in a safe and steady performance for the first hour or so - then had a torrid final quarter, crashing into his goalkeeper for one goal and unable to hold the line for another.

But the same was true for Leicester this time, with the devastating news that the in-form James Justin is another to miss the remainder of the campaign with a serious knee injury.

It meant both full-backs were out of position: Ricardo Pereira on the left instead of his favoured right, and Daniel Amartey reprising his right-back role when, primarily, he is a defensive midfielder.

Both sides are back in European action in the coming weeks, too, so consistency in those areas could be even harder to come by.

Battle for the Golden Boot

At either end of the pitch we had last season’s top scorer in the Premier League, Jamie Vardy, and the winner in the previous two campaigns, Mohamed Salah.

The Liverpool man went into this game three clear of his nearest challengers and five clear of Vardy, but it was the Leicester man who had the better first-half openings, despite the Reds mostly controlling the game.

Offside could have been a factor had the home striker buried a one-on-one rather than cracking an effort off the bar, while Salah was mostly involved in build-up play rather than end product after wasting a good chance to run in on goal early on.

That all changed after the break, when the Egyptian buried the first real half-chance to fall his way and Vardy capitalised on a horrid defensive error.

Ndidi the enforcer

Considering the amount of possession play Liverpool had in the match, it required a big performance by several Leicester defenders.

Foremost among their leaders was holding midfielder Wilfrid Ndidi, excellent throughout both in ball-winning on the deck and aerial dominance in the air.

The 24-year-old was an absolute barrier that Liverpool struggled to get past with regularity and his use of the ball was almost equally as impressive as his near-perfect defensive display.

The Reds could have used his talents and efficiency at breaking up play in the final quarter of an hour.

Errors at the back

After last week’s slip-ups against Man City, Liverpool would have had ‘concentration’ and ‘solidity’ somewhere near the top of their list of requirements for this game.

For more than an hour they had exactly that: great control of the midfield, a fine shape and one or two big defensive interventions when they needed them.

Then, after taking the lead and subbing off Curtis Jones, it quickly fell apart: a silly foul, no organisation, no communication, three goals conceded.

Forget just names at the back, Klopp has to get his team back to knowing how to defend as a unit.

Top-four fight

These sides were third and fourth heading into the weekend, though defeat for the Reds and wins elsewhere could have feasibly seen Jurgen Klopp’s team drop to as low as eighth.

It made it imperative that Liverpool got the opening goal, and that they did - but the seven-minute collapse they then brought about themselves through a series of bad decisions at the back was cataclysmic.

This really starts to put the pressure on the Reds’ top-four needs, while also makes the case stronger for Leicester themselves to keep their grip on third - or better, as they’re up to second now.