Liverpool kept their Premier League title charge on course by beating Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday, with Trent Alexander-Arnold returning from injury and coming off the bench to score the only goal of the game in the 76th minute.
Teams
Liverpool boss Arne Slot still couldn’t count on defender Joe Gomez and midfielder Tyler Morton through injury.
With Alisson Becker in goal, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate paired up in the heart of defence, Kostas Tsimikas was picked ahead of Andy Robertson on the left defensive flank, and Conor Bradley started on the right. The usual trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai covered the middle of the park, while Mohamed Salah attacked from the right, Cody Gakpo from the left, and Luis Diaz through the middle.
Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was also without two players for this game – defender Harry Souttar and forward Abdul Fatawu.
Mads Hermansen stood between the posts. Centre-backs Wout Faes and Conor Coady were flanked by Ricardo Pereira on the right and Luke Thomas on the left. Wilfred Ndidi had Boubacar Soumare beside him in midfield, while the trio of Bobby Decordova-Reid, Bilal El-Khannous and Stephy Mavididi played behind veteran striker Jamie Vardy.
Game recap
The afternoon began with a clear display of fan frustration, as a plane flew over the East Midlands carrying a banner that read “KING POWER CLUELESS SACK THE BOARD.” It’s been a bleak campaign for Leicester, though Van Nistelrooy’s men at least put up a fight on Sunday against the title favourites.
The hosts pressed with enough intensity off the ball to unsettle Liverpool, who continued to look shaky in their build-up without Alexander-Arnold. Conor Bradley endured a rough start, with Mavididi repeatedly getting the better of him in one-on-one duels to craft Leicester’s best first-half opportunity.
Following a slice of fortune, the winger managed to find Ndidi on the edge of the area, and his left-footed strike crashed against the post. That chance came shortly after Mohamed Salah wasted a golden opportunity to give Liverpool the lead, with his first effort agonizingly clipping both uprights.
Salah was then kept out by a sharp Hermansen save and later failed to convert a cross from Tsimikas in a goalless first half where the visitors gradually took control. Leicester found it difficult to deal with Liverpool’s underlapping fullbacks, while Salah repeatedly found space at the far post due to the number of bodies in the box.
Liverpool stepped up the pressure early in the second half, with Szoboszlai testing Hermansen at his near post and Ricardo Pereira producing a superb block to deny Gakpo. Hermansen also reacted brilliantly to keep out Tsimikas.
Pinned back for much of the half, Van Nistelrooy’s double substitution at the hour mark gave Leicester renewed energy, and they started to respond. Coady thought he’d scored against the run of play, but Stuart Attwell ruled it out for an evident foul by substitute Patson Daka on Alisson.
Slot introduced the returning Alexander-Arnold from the bench to add a spark, and the right-back delivered. After a chaotic scramble from a set-piece, the ball eventually landed at his feet, and he rifled a left-footed strike past Hermansen.
That proved decisive, as Liverpool continued to waste chances afterward. Their failure to kill the game might have backfired, but Facundo Buonanotte, another substitute, squandered Leicester’s two late openings.
Liverpool title closer, Leicester relegated
A victory over Liverpool – always an unlikely outcome – would’ve been the only result keeping the Foxes still in with a mathematical chance of survival at the end of the season, but even then it would’ve been barely possible. As it is, the Foxes remain on 18 points – as many behind West Ham in 17th place, and with no more than five matches left to play, the gap has become unbridgeable and their relegation confirmed.
Let’s face it, with just 18 points from 33 matches, it’s obvious Leicester simply aren’t good enough to compete in the league regarded by many as the best and toughest in the world. The imminent return to the Championship, while sparking the feelings of disappointment among the supporters of the club, as well as the players, will provide them with opposition more to their measure, as well as the task of fighting for another promotion after the success of 2023/24.
Meanwhile, Liverpool had a small chance of mathematically securing the Premier League title at the King Power, but Arsenal’s convincing triumph over Ipswich Town – whose relegation is also set to be confirmed soon – means the race will go on for a little while longer.
The next possibility for the Merseysiders to be crowned champions will come on Wednesday, where a surprise triumph of Crystal Palace over Arsenal would end it all. However, the likeliest scenario is still for Liverpool to win it officially on Sunday next, when a home victory over Tottenham Hotspur would do it, regardless of what the Gunners may do against Palace.
Alexander-Arnold’s celebration
Alexander-Arnold is about to run out of contract, and while there have been reports about his transfer to Real Madrid as a free agent being imminent, there has been no indication in any direction from either of the clubs, or the player himself.
Liverpool’s victory was perhaps harder earned that it was supposed to be, but it was deserved and certainly expected – there wasn’t much worth discussing on that front. However, Alexander-Arnold’s celebration has left many wondering if it perhaps meant more than merely a player being happy for getting on the scoresheet.
Having pounded the ball past Hermansen into the net, the England international raced towards the corner flag and took off his shirt as he went, and then he hung it on the flag, casting what appeared to have been an emotional look at it.
It’s impossible, of course, to know what it meant, if indeed it meant anything other than joy of scoring the winning goal, his third at the King Power Stadium, where he continued walking on the paths of top-class performances of the recent years.
Whatever the case, the closure of the saga is drawing closer.
