Wilfried Ndidi dazzles In Leicester’s Victory Against Liverpool
A dazzling performance by Nigerian international Wilfried Ndidi led Leicester City to a resounding 3-1 victory against Premier League champions Liverpool, at the King Power stadium.
Ndidi, who earlier this week made his comeback after a hamstring injury last month made more ball recoveries (11) and won more aerial duels (5), in the first half of the match. He was also instrumental in a game that saw Leicester score three goals in seven breathtaking second-half minutes to help ‘The Foxes’ climb to second spot on the table.
Liverpool dominated possession in the opening period with efforts from Mohammed Salah and Roberto Firmino. The champions pressed but couldn’t produce an end product. Leicester’s Jamie Vardy also threatened, however, the scored remained 0-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Liverpool eventually broke through the Leicester defence in the 67th minute when Firmino’s quick feet got the better of Amartey and Jonny Evans to find Salah.
The Egyptian calmly passed the ball into the corner of the net for his 17th league goal of the season.
A few moments after the opening goal, it all fell apart for the champions. When Thiago Alcantara brought down Harvey Barnes on the edge of the box, James Maddison stepped up and fired his free kick into the bottom corner to tie the scores.
Moments later, a pass to Barnes by Youri Thielemans caused a calamitous mix-up between the onrushing Alisson and debutant Kabak. The defender’s attempts to intercept the ball took his goalkeeper out of the game, allowing Vardy to take advantage and give The Foxes the lead.
Harvey Barnes compounded Liverpool’s misery with a well-taken third after Ndidi’s well-crafted pass found him behind Liverpool’s backline, with his shot finding the bottom corner to end the contest.
Leicester moved up to second on the table ahead with Liverpool in fourth, 13 points behind leaders Manchester City having played one game more. The Premier League champions’ injury problems keep on mounting as Jurgen Klopp’s side slip six points behind their opponents.
“Yes. I don’t think we can close the gap,” Liverpool coach Klopp said after a third straight Premier League defeat.
“We have to win football games and big parts of the football were really good. We have to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings. Today we didn’t do that.”
Chidi Nwoke
