Digging Deeper into Liverpool's 3-1 Win over Leicester

Yesterday at 06:18 PM

After the Reds pounce on the opportunity and increase their lead at the top of the table, we dig into some of the winners and losers on the night.

After seemingly every other top team in the Premier League responded to Jonathan Liew's accusation that Tottenham aren't a serious football club by doing their very best to join the Londoners in that category, Liverpool were presented with a golden opportunity to widen the gap to second-placed Chelsea on Boxing Day.

Now, when people say they haven't the foggiest idea what's happening, they're referring to the goal the Reds conceded tonight, as three defenders stood completely still — presumably bewitched by the fog that filled Anfield — and allowed a bumbling cross from the left to roll its way to Jordan Ayew, who swiveled and buried his shot inside Alisson Becker's near post.

These Reds don't run, though, and quickly reasserted control over proceedings, hitting the woodwork twice, then equalising at the stroke of half-time via a bendy Cody Gakpo belter, before a smart close-range finish from Curtis Jones and the customary Mohamed Salah coffin nail put the result out of reach, taking Arne Slot's lads seven points ahead of Chelsea with a game in hand.

With all that said, then, we provide a quick word on the winners and losers on the night.

Winners

Cody Gakp-OH!: While he has scored fully a third of his Liverpool goals via back post tap-in, Cody Gakpo arrived at the club perhaps most renowned for his ball striking. It is appropriate, then, that tonight's equaliser was one of those swerving Philippe Coutinho-esque strikes that dips in at the far post after cutting inside from the flank, as a reminder of the good stuff the Dutchman brings on the ball.

The former PSV man also notched an assist for Salah's goal — although there was still work to do for the Egyptian before curling home — and was phenomenal all night, racking up three shots, two key passes, two dribbles and two tackles, in the sort of all-action performance that seemingly intensifies the competition between himself and Luis Díaz, who was rested entirely tonight.

Occasionally inconsistent, the 25-year old has hit a run of form lately, and is now up to 14 goals and assist in all competitions this season, averaging one every 98 minutes, second only to Mohamed Salah on both counts.

Big D: After the 11th minute, Liverpool did not concede a shot tonight. Accounting for two minutes of injury time in the first half and nine in the second, that equates to the Reds denying their opponents a single shot for a full 90 minutes, over half of which was spent in the lead. The Slot machine may have been a goal down to start, but just kept on grinding, and while there seemed to be some hesitation around Anfield, there was never really much doubt the hosts would eventually find the breakthrough, such was their dominance and persistence in their efforts.

The ability to generate the sort of pressure that inevitably breaches the dam while remaining perfect defensively is rare, and although Leicester City, whose top goal scorer is 37-year old Jamie Vardy, may not be the most unstoppable force in the league, this was exactly the sort of match that could have been ruined by a defensive error or lapse in concentration at the wrong time.

Beat the dross, win the league, they say, and this is how you do that.

Losers

VAR: Semi-automated offside can not come soon enough. Of the nine minutes added in the second half, eight were the result of the VAR team spending ages looking at what appeared to be close but not that close calls that an automated system will blow through in a few seconds.

The correct decision was reached on both occasions — one allowed, one disallowed — which is the most important feature of the technology, but the path to get there is such a slog at times.

Everybody Else: The Reds are mustard. Everybody else are inferior condiments.

What Happens Next

The Reds travel to London to face off with West Ham for the second time this season, having hammered them 5-1 in the League Cup back in September, before hosting a struggling Manchester United at Anfield in the first game of 2025, as we mark the halfway point of this ridiculous 74-day, 20-game run we currently find ourselves in the middle of.

Up the top at Christmas Reds!