Free highlights and match report as Faes has a night to forget at Anfield; only the fourth player in Premier League (EPL) history to score two own goals; Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had given Leicester an early lead, Liverpool remains sixth but is only two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham; Leicester is 13th. Wout Faes’ two own goals helped Liverpool beat Leicester 2-1, moving the Reds to within two points of fourth place in the Premier League (EPL).
Liverpool 2-1 Leicester (EPL)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall broke through Liverpool’s defense before nudging a finish past Alisson only four minutes into the game. However, following end-to-end action, Leicester center-back Faes provided a huge assist for Liverpool, first cutting Trent Alexander-cross Arnold’s up and over Foxes goalkeeper Danny Ward (38) then putting the ball into his net again (45) after Darwin Nunez’s chip struck a post. An utter disaster for him and a nightmare for Leicester,” Fox Cric‘ Jamie Carragher remarked on co-commentary, referring to one of three previous players who had the unenviable distinction of scoring two own goals in a Premier League (EPL) encounter.
After the interval, both teams had opportunities, with Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, and Nunez guilty in front of the Kop and Harvey Barnes and Dewsbury-Hall coming close at the other end, but their own goals proved pivotal. Liverpool’s fourth consecutive league victory maintains them in sixth place, but they are closing in on Tottenham in the quest for Champions League qualifying, and with new acquisition Cody Gakpo watching from the bleachers, they will be hopeful about what is to come in 2023. Leicester remains in 13th place.
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How Faes’ goals aided Liverpool’s triumph
There had been pre-match tributes to Pele and former Liverpool striker David Johnson, but when the action began, it was the visitors who looked the sharpest, and a simple layoff from Patson was enough to put them ahead. Dakota immediately saw space open up, allowing Dewsbury-Hall to surge through and score a stunning first goal. When Daka went out with a hamstring injury shortly after, one of Liverpool’s main tormentors, Jamie Vardy, pushed Alexander-Arnold into a desperation block to prevent Barnes from scoring a second.
Liverpool had opportunities early on as well, with Salah firing over Nunez’s cutback before having a drive ruled out for an offside flag against Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. However, the game’s complexion altered seven minutes before halftime. Replays showed Ward shouting ‘Keeper’s’ before Faes frantically swung a leg at Alexander-low Arnold’s but benign cross, but the Belgian might consider himself unlucky to see the ball loop into his own goal in a such spectacular way. He lost his cool again for his second own goal, turning in as he attempted to clear the ball after Nunez’s exquisite chip struck the woodwork.
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Nunez came within inches of scoring on that occasion, but he cut a frustrated figure in the second half as his six-game goal drought for club and country continued, with one chance from the outside of the box especially awful. In his two Premier League (EPL) appearances since the World Cup, he has already fired 13 shots without a result. However, there were promising indications from his link-up play with Salah, and on a night when Liverpool wasn’t at their best, positives like that – and the help to their top-four challenge – will provide reassurance moving into the New Year.
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Klopp: The victory is crucial, but we must play better.
Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool, told Fox Cric: “Obviously, conceding an early goal is not beneficial. We’re here to get things done. We won the game by three points, which is quite significant. We experienced performances comparable to this in our finest times when we were incredibly steady, but not precisely. But, while playing a counter-attacking squad, we lost balls at the wrong times because we were too exposed.
This morning, we had to adjust our formation, which is never a good thing. We had strong stretches and pushed them to score their own goals, which was unfortunate for the lad. We were higher up in the second half, but they still had their opportunities because we were too vulnerable. We must capitalize on the victory, but we must also play better. On Fabinho’s departure from the group on Friday morning to assist his girlfriend in giving birth: “When the games arrive so quickly, you just have one session, the one we had yesterday.
This morning was just supposed to be set-pieces before we received the news and sent him home. Not flawless, but we played in that configuration before, and we can do it again. That early goal was ineffective, as seen by the impact it made. We let up a goal on a goal-kick because we were in too deep. The response I would have liked to see was that we move higher up and had to challenge in other places, but instead, we stepped back.”
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Rodgers believes “strong character” Faes will recover
Brendan Rodgers, manager of Leicester City, told Fox Cric: “It was much superior to Boxing Day. We began the game the way we wanted. Scored a great goal and seemed to be quite threatening. We may have backed up a little after scoring. But we seemed to be at ease. Then the two goals appear out of nowhere. We were a constant danger throughout the game until the very end. We’re simply unhappy we didn’t get anything from the game because I believed we deserved it. [Wout Faes] has been outstanding since his arrival.
He’s been terrific in every performance. He was abroad with Belgium and didn’t receive any minutes, so this is one of your instances of returning and perhaps requiring a few games to get going. He’s simply unlucky tonight. I doubt you’ll ever see the opening goal go in like that again. But he’s a tough guy, and he’ll get over it.
Stats from Opta – Slow starts and comebacks
Leicester has lost 10 of their last 12 EPL away games at Anfield (D2). Liverpool has won six EPL games after conceding the opening goal in 2022, the equal most of any team this calendar year (also six for Spurs). This was the 50th Premier League (EPL) victory of 2022 for a side that surrendered the game’s opening goal – the only two years in EPL history where 50 such victories have occurred in the past two years (also 57 in 2021).
Leicester’s fourth-minute goal by Kieran Dewsbury-Hall was the seventh EPL goal Liverpool has surrendered in the first five minutes of games in 2022, three more than any other team. Indeed, it is the joint-highest total for any team in a single year, with Sunderland in 2000 and Blackburn Rovers in 2009. Wout Faes of Leicester became the fourth player in Premier League (EPL) history to score two own goals in a single game, after Jamie Carragher (1999, Liverpool vs Man Utd), Michael Proctor (2003, Sunderland vs Charlton), and Jonathan Walters (2013, Stoke vs Chelsea).
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What comes next?
Liverpool’s next match, a 5.30 pm kickoff away to Brentford on Monday, January 2, will also be shown live on Sky Sports, while Leicester will host Fulham at 7.45 pm on Tuesday, January 3.
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