If you had been at Anfield on Wednesday night for Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Leicester City, you may have thought the Reds were about to be relegated. To the contrary, Liverpool moved five points ahead of Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.
That wasn’t what it felt like at Anfield as supporters bemoaned every poor pass, misstep, and errant shot late in the game. The atmosphere created by many of the Reds’ supporters was incredibly negative and rather than helping the players, it established an aura that expected the worst.
But the worst didn’t happen and Liverpool certainly didn’t lose to Leicester. The Reds moved five points clear of Manchester City following the latter’s loss to Rafael Benitez’s Newcastle on Tuesday. While a win and being seven points clear would have been great, there are still plenty of chances for Liverpool to pull away from their rivals. More importantly, there are still plenty of points left for Liverpool to just keep a slight distance in the race for the title. Liverpool do not have to be seven, 10, or 20 points ahead of Manchester City to win their first league championship in 29 years. All it takes is one point to give the Reds the trophy they desire most.
Liverpool’s draw with Leicester should be taken into context. Firstly, the pitch wasn’t in great shape and the cold, snowy weather prevented the ball from moving well on the Anfield turf. Secondly, manager Jurgen Klopp was dealing with injuries and a suspension to three key players. James Milner, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Joe Gomez were all unavailable. Captain Jordan Henderson, showing he is a true leader and team player, deputised at right-back and turned in a good performance.
The ultimate reason Liverpool were unable to pull away from Leicester after scoring the game’s opening goal through Sadio Mane, however, was due to the Foxes’ fantastic defensive play. Claude Puel’s defence put in a performance of the ages. Forget that Naby Keita was brought down by Ricardo Pereira and it should have been a penalty. Leicester’s back four stepped up and played a huge part. Mohamed Salah was completely taken out of the match and Puel’s two banks of four were impenetrable.
Even though Leicester’s highly overrated attacking duo of Jaime Vardy and James Maddison did nothing of note in front of goal, the defence kept them in the game. Maddison was once again taken off before the 90-minute mark having had little impact. Vardy is incapable of receiving the ball at his feet and is only able to run onto passes played over the top.
It was centre-back Harry Maguire who scored Leicester’s goal when Virgil van Dijk lost track of him at the back post. Forget that Maguire should have been sent off for taking down Mane as he raced through Leicester’s defence later on.
Give Leicester credit, even with Puel on the chopping block, they put together a performance that would have got them points anywhere in the Premier League. Leicester have the sixth best Premier League away points total (18). It is four points better than their tally at home this term.
Worryingly for Liverpool – other than fans freaking out – is the team’s lackadaisical play in recent games. Yes, they have been without key defenders, but the team has suddenly lost the 90-minutes of heavy metal football killer instinct it had previously. Forget that they scored four goals against Crystal Palace, because Liverpool allowed the Eagles three and could have easily lost or drawn.
Despite the fans negativity, which is highly contagious, Liverpool still lead the league and most supporters would be happy to be five points clear with 14 games to play. At least most supporters at any other Premier League club.