Defeat Leicester, Liverpool Are Getting Hard To Catch Chelsea
JAKARTA - Liverpool fell behind before defeating Leicester City 3-1 in the Boxing Day match in the English Premier League at Anfield Stadium, Friday, December 27, 2024 in the morning WIB. The important victory made it increasingly difficult for Liverpool to catch Chelsea.
Liverpool drove alone and their position at the top of the standings was completely immovable. Even Liverpool managed to get away from their competitors, especially Chelsea who were in second place.
This is a sweet gift for Liverpool fans on Boxing Day matches or the day after Christmas.
In the duel against Leicester, the Reds scored three consecutive wins since being detained by Fulham 2-2 on December 14, 2024. Liverpool immediately returned to winning ways by beating Southampton 2-1 and then beating Tottenham Hotspur 6-3.
Finally, Liverpool beat Leicester which made them manage to get away from Chelsea's pursuit. Moreover, the Blues who played at home at Stamford Bridge instead wasted a chance to win. In the London Derby, Chelsea were forced to give up 2-1 at home to Fulham.
The defeat made Chelsea, who have point 35, already seven points behind Liverpool. Not only that, Liverpool have the opportunity to move further away because they still have one match against Everton which has been delayed.
Meanwhile, Leicester is back in the relegation zone. The presence of the new manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who previously handled Manchester United for a while, has not brought any significant changes to Leicester.
The defeat against Liverpool made the Foxes drop to 18th place with 14. One point adrift with Wolverhampton Wanderers who took 17th place after winning 2-0 against MU.
In the match at Anfield, Liverpool got hot late. Alisson Becker's goal conceded when the game had only been running for a minute. Leicester's quick goal was produced by winger Jordan Ayew after meetingminal Mavidi's cap.
Starting from Ayew's action which received the ball from Mavidi. He was then overshadowed strictly by Andi Robertson. However, Ayew was superior physically and with strength so that he was able to control the ball to release it into goal that Alisson failed to save. A goal that had silenced the host's fans.
Left behind 1-0, Liverpool got up and played aggressively against Leicester's defense. Robertson almost made up for his mistake when he got a chance in the 25th minute. But his header only hit the post.
Furthermore, Mohamed Salah's kick was still fruitless. The Egyptian captain's shot still bounced in the 45th minute.
But it was Cody Gakpo who managed to break the deadlock when the first half was over. Receiving a pass from Alexis Mac Allister, he also beat Jakub goalkeeper Stolarczyk in the 45+1 minute. The score changed 1-1 and lasted until halftime.
Gakpo's goal made Liverpool even more excited when entering the second half. They immediately pressed the Leicester defense.
As a result, it was the hosts' turn to score a quick goal. Just four minutes into the game, midfielder Curtis Jones gave Liverpool the lead. Again, Mac Allister played a role in the goal process. This assist from the Argentine national team player was completed by Jones who gave Liverpool a 2-1 lead.
This advantage made Arne Slot's team relax. Their game is getting more and more solid which makes Leicester unable to do much.
Gakpo also had time to score a second goal which increased Liverpool's lead in the 67th minute. It's just that referee Darren Bond reviewed the goal through VAR. After watching him for a long time, Bond canceled the goal because Gakpo was declared offside.
But Salah made no mistake when he finally broke into Leicester's goal in the 82nd minute. Salah's 100th goal in the Premier League home game gave The Pool a 3-1 lead. The score lasted until the game was over.