Liverpool recorded a very lucky victory over Leicester City on Friday night. Wout Faes scored two own goals in the first half, allowing coach Jürgen Klopp’s team to make up for a 0-1 deficit: 2-1. Both of Faes’ own goals can be labeled as crazy, although the ex-defender of sc Heerenveen and Excelsior also played an excellent match. The victory puts Liverpool in sixth place, while Leicester can be found in thirteenth place.
Early lead for Leicester
Leicester took the lead in the fourth minute. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was able to run freely after a long ball from goalkeeper Danny Ward and a short combination in midfield, after which midfielder Alisson was the boss: 0-1. Liverpool tried to equalize straight away, but struggled to break through Leicester’s defence. The away team itself was also threatening with outbreaks. For example, Jamie Vardy barely reached a teammate, which saved Liverpool from worse suffering. On the other hand, Liverpool got the space they were looking for in the first act. Núñez escaped on the left and passed to Salah, who shot over. The Egyptian thought to make it 1-1 moments later.
Wout Faes brace
A bad kick from Ward landed on the head of the wing forward, who unintentionally reached Núñez. The Uruguayan was offside, so finishing Salah afterwards was in vain. Ten minutes before the break, Liverpool were very happy to equalize. A ball from the right reached no one, except Faes. The Belgian tried to clear the ball without an opponent nearby, but saw the ball end up in the far corner of his own goal: 1-1. Leicester, however, remained dangerous through the counters and that almost led to the 1-2, when Vardy brought teammate Harvey Barnes into position. However, he ran into the Reds defense at the last minute. Another Wout Faes gave Liverpool the lead just before half-time. Punters who had their free bets on goals by Liverpool players weren’t too happy about it.
Second half
After the break, Leicester again came out of the dressing room well and it was close to the equalizer via star Barnes, but he shot over. On the other hand, Salah almost gave Liverpool a wider lead, but he also saw his effort go over. There were no chances on either side for quite some time, although the game didn’t get any duller because both teams tried to score. Partly due to the excellent playing Faes, Brendan Rodgers’ team held on. Fifteen minutes before the end, Virgil van Dijk was almost the man of the assist, but his header towards Salah could not be promoted to an assist by the attacker. A few minutes later, Naby Keïta had a nice pass to Núñez, who shot over in a promising position. On the other hand, Barnes continued to be a tease for Liverpool’s defence. The attacker hit the crossbar ten minutes before the end after a good attack over the right side. It later turned out to be offside. In the final phase, Leicester still tried, but was no longer able to score the equalizer. Salah missed another good chance on a pass from Núñez.