Liverpool were rampant against Leicester City, winning 4-1 in the Premier League, but there was cause for concern as the Reds looked shaky at the back.
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino celebrates scoring their fourth goal
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool beat Leicester City 4-1 in the Premier League in front of an Anfield crowd that saw the full force of the Reds’ attack, spearheaded by Roberto Firmino.
Leicester’s early season form has been troubling, while Klopp’s side remains a work in progress, but the early signs for the German manager are clear: Liverpool are an attacking threat.
But while it is clear that Ranieri needs to transform the Premier League champions’ fortunes, the problems currently occupying Klopp’s mind will undoubtedly be that defensively he has issues, and the balance of the side isn’t quite right.
Liverpool’s defensive issues were evident from the start, and with two midfielders in your back four, the fears of the Anfield crowd were being realised from the off.
But despite the early worries of the home crowd, Liverpool weathered the storm to show just how potent going forward they can be.
We take a look at the five things we learned from Liverpool v Leicester in the Premier League.
1. Klopp has worked wonders with Firmino
Following Firmino’s move from Hoffenheim in 2015, the Brazilian had scored just one goal in 24 matches in all competitions, but after scoring twice against Arsenal in January, the forward has gone on to score 12 goals in 35 Premier League games.
Klopp’s insistence of playing the Brazilian in a variety of forward positions is showing just how much of an asset Firmino is, and perhaps it is no coincidence that since Klopp’s arrival in Liverpool, there has been a dramatic upturn in performance by the Brazilian.
2. Rampant Reds
Liverpool ran Ranieri’s Leicester side ragged at times at Anfield, and at stages during the match Klopp’s side looked brilliant going forward.
In scoring all four goals Liverpool were clinical, and the star of the show was Firmino, although Adam Lallana and Saido Mane deserve notable mentions for their goals.
Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino scores their fourth goal
3. Liverpool look unbalanced at the back
Liverpool’s defensive instability is something that continues to show itself time and time again, and against Leicester it was evident once more.
The team selection will have given the Anfield crowd, on a day when Liverpool played to a 54,000 sell-out crowd in the newly expanded stadium, reason for concern.
Klopp selected two midfielders, in Lucas Leiva and James Milner, in his back four and throughout the game they looked suspect.
While Riyad Mahrez gave Milner a torrid time, Lucas was a fault for Leicester’s goal having mis-controlled a straight forward pass, he played the ball across goal to Jamie Vardy, who scored with ease.
Leicester City’s Shinji Okazaki in action with Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva
4. Sturridge is struggling to find his place
There remains no doubt about Daniel Sturridge’s talent, but that being said, the forward is struggling for form and to find a place within the formation and the set up of Klopp’s side.
Such is Sturridge’s lack of real direction of where he fits in that questions have now been raised as to whether the England forward would fit in to Klopp’s optimal starting XI, with forward positions likely to go to Firmino, Lallana, Mane, and Philippe Coutinho.
Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge in action with Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel and Christian Fuchs
5. Leicester’s early season form is troubling
Ranieri’s side have lost two out of their opening four Premier League games, and when put in comparison to the fact that last season they only lost three league games all season, it shows the stark contrast of how the two campaigns may go.
The loss of N’Golo Kante was always going to be hard to deal with but the league was not won by the one player alone, and ten of those players who were regulars last season, started against Liverpool.
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