Trent Alexander-Arnold came to the rescue of Liverpool as Arne Slot’s side took a major step towards Premier League glory against Leicester City, who were relegated as a result of the defeat. The Reds struggled up against the valiant Foxes backline but ultimately made the breakthrough after hitting the woodwork several times beforehand.
After Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah all squandered opportunities in a goalmouth scramble, the ball fell invitingly to the right-back, who smashed a fierce volley beyond Mads Hermansen to send the travelling Reds supporters into a frenzy after 76 minutes.
Express Sport runs the rule over Liverpool’s players at the King Power Stadium…
Liverpool player ratings vs Leicester (4-3-3)
Alisson: 6
Sharp off his line to sniff out danger on a few occasions on what was a quiet afternoon for the Brazilian.
Conor Bradley: 6 (Alexander Arnold, 71‘)
The 21-year-old is far from the finished product but offers plenty at both ends of the pitch, and he could be the Alexander-Arnold replacement if he can iron out his silly mistakes. Booked.
Virgil van Dijk: 6
Confident performance from the defender and capped off a good week for the Dutchman with a clean sheet, having extended his stay at Anfield just a few days ago.
Ibrahima Konate: 6
Similarly, a confident display from the Frenchman, who did well to minimise the threat of Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka.
Kostas Tsimikas: 6
The left-back kept Bobby De Cordova-Reid quiet on the counter-attack but didn’t particularly offer the threat that Andy Robertson often provides.
Alexis Mac Allister: 6
Managed to hold the Liverpool midfield together and attempted to inject a spark into his side’s play.
Ryan Gravenberch: 5
Although he has solved Liverpool’s No. 6 issues this season, it remains to be seen whether he is the long-term player for the role. Gravenberch is capable of keeping play ticking and protecting his backline, but the position demands more and in possession, he must do more.
Dominik Szoboszlai: 5 (Elliott, 70’)
Szoboszlai played into the hands of the Leicester midfield and left the pitch with his only true impact on the game being a strike from distance which was easily saved. The game passed him by and, despite picking up the ball in dangerous areas, slowed attacks down with his conservative passes.
Mohamed Salah: 7
Unsurprisingly, Salah was Liverpool’s biggest threat. He missed a handful of big chances but was a constant headache for Luke Thomas, who was caught out by the movement of the Egypt international on several occasions.
Luis Diaz: 5 (Jones, 90’)
Despite hitting a run of good form on the left, Diaz was deployed as a No. 9 for almost an hour against the Foxes and truly struggled. The Colombian international thrives when given the chance to race in behind and race to the by-line, and thus playing centrally does not make use of his skillset.
Cody Gakpo: 5 (Jota, 60’)
Provided very little threat and has really struggled for form since his injury. Questionable call from Slot to rejig his frontline to have Gakpo play out wide over Diaz, and the Netherlands international hardly justified the show of faith from his manager.
Substitutes
Diogo Jota: 6. Provided a true striker’s presence and linked up play where he could. Lacked support centrally.
Harvey Elliott: 7. Added the spark that Liverpool were crying out for with his desire to get on the ball and create openings. Would be very unfortunate not to start more frequently before the end of the season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7. Sometimes the stories just write themselves, and Alexander-Arnold’s goal to save his boyhood club before potentially departing is one of them. The defender ensured that all the talk will be about his fierce volley, and general goal threat, rather than his future.
Curtis Jones: N/A
