Premier League Picks Of The Week 6

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 6

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 6:

24 goals - most by Man City = 5

238 shots - most by Man City = 21

96 on target - most by Man City = 10

108 corners - most by Man City, Crystal Palace and Everton = 9 each

210 fouls - most by Burnley, Wolves and Arsenal = 17 each

25 bookings - most by Burnley, Southampton, Brighton, Leicester, Fulham, West Ham and Arsenal = 2 each

0 red cards

1 penalty - 1 scored (Kane for Tottenham)

What a game! Two goals in two minutes by Matěj Vydra (39') and Aaron Lennon (41') gave Burnley a strong lead against Bournemouth and high hopes to end their bad run of four straight defeats before Saturday afternoon. Both keepers Joe Hart and Asmir Begoviç made some solid stops, blocks and saves. Then Ashley Barnes sealed the deal with a brace, making it four goals and three points for the home side, relief all-round. Harsh on the Cherries who tried hard, pushed and pressed, but were denied any way back. What a difference no Europa League made for Sean Dyche’s men.

Super Sunday saw no goals between West Ham and Chelsea, the Blues dropping their first points of the season after both sides missed and messed up everything. Hammer keeper Łukasz Fabiański did a good job with some flexible and quick-reaction saves. The Gunners followed with their fourth consecutive win, 2-0, two goals in three minutes against Everton, more to that afternoon kick-off below.

What a team! Liverpool made it seven wins out of seven opening league games, a club record, leaving them as the last team left in the top-four tiers with a 100% winning run and top of the table. It started with an unlucky own goal for Southampton, the ball went ping pong off a corner to Sadio Mané whose pass to Xherdan Shaqiri caused problems, coming off Shane Long and deflecting in off Wesley Hoedt. Joël Matip’s powerful header off another corner doubled the Reds’ lead. Shaqiri’s stunning free kick came off the cross bar and was followed in by none  other than Mohamed Salah to make it 3-0 before the break. Another goal for the great Egyptian was disallowed offside. The dominance, the play, the speed, the connection, it was lethal, the Saints were lucky it ended just 3-0 at Anfield, the Reds are on fire. Boss Jürgen Klopp also has a 100% record of his own, having beaten Mark Hughes all five times they have met in the Premier League. Boom. 

What a man! Claude Puel’s under pressure at Leicester, some saw this weekend as a must-win against Huddersfield. Mathias Jørgensen put the Terriers ahead within five minutes, Kasper Schmeichel beaten, the ball bouncing in off his glove. Kelechi Iheanacho levelled off a counter, exposing the visitors, cool and accurate as you like. Jamie Vardy put a sitter wide, off a free kick. Laurent Depoitre was just as wasteful at the other end. James Maddison smacked a free kick in, an unstoppable strike to make it 2-1 at the King Power stadium. Vardy made it 3-1 to the Foxes with a nice run and clip-finish. What crises?! It was a heavy-hearted and hard-breathing post-match interview for David Wagner after yet another defeat keeping the Terriers smack bang at the bottom of the table.

It was great to see Sir Alex Ferguson back at Old Trafford, standing ovation and goosebumps all-round - and that’s coming from a Liverpool fan! Fred gave the great Scot’s former team the lead against Wolves with a nice turn and shot, his first for the club, making him his side's 500th scorer. David de Gea made some crucial stops as always, Rui Patrício did just as well at the other end. But João Moutinho levelled things with a beautiful touch and unstoppable finish. And both keepers continued their hard shift and great display until the final whistle, it stayed 1-1. Even José Mourinho conceded the opposition was better and deserved the point! (Nuno Espírito Santo's men had more shots on target causing United all sorts of problems.)

What a goal! What a miss it was by City's İlkay Gündoğan, sending the ball sky-high from inside the box at Cardiff. Pep Guardiola was staring on in the rain. But Sergio Agüero opened the scoring with his 205th goal in his 300th appearance for City, 30 in 13 against newly promoted sides! A delightful header up and over the keeper and in by Bernardo Silva made it two goals in quick succession for the champions. And what a smacker Gündoğan made it three with, a diagonal whacker into the top right corner, making up for his earlier miss. The Citizens were singing in the rain in Wales, and all that, top quality play, dominance and goals came in the first half! Riyad Mahrez made it four and five with his first(s) fine finishes for the club, just awesome all-round! Respect to the Cardiff fans who stayed! It could have been six , seven or more.
Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring for Arsenal with a lovely curler from 20 yards, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's gaol was more controversial, doubling the score clearly from an offside position. Everton boss Marco Silva was not happy of course, his side had plenty of chances, Petr Čech held on to a lot to keep the sheet clean. The Toffees remain 12th having only won three of their last 30 PL away games. Arsenal are up to sixth, level on points with rivals Spurs in fifth. This fixture is the highest-scoring one in Premier League history, with these two goals taking the total up to 153.

What the hell?! Tottenham ended their losing streak with at Brighton on Saturday evening - Harry Kane gave the London team the lead from the spot after a blatant handball/save by Glenn Murray. What was he thinking?! The Seagulls had chance after chance to get back into the game, but Erik Lamela doubled the lead for the Londoners. Anthony Knockaert pulled one back late on, a nice diagonal slam, but the visitor’s keeper Paulo Gazzaniga did well and held onto the lead. It was a game of two halves, one quite boring, the other with everything in it.

How was that not a red card for Timothy Fosu-Mensah, it was a bad tackle on Troy Deeney, lucky there was no injury. It ended all level between Fulham and Watford, 1:1, although there were plenty more chances to settle the encounter. A weekend of misses and mess-ups.

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Fulham 1:2 Watford - 1:1

Burnley 0:1 Bournemouth - 4:0

Cardiff 1:3 Man City - 0:5

Crystal Palace 2:2 Newcastle - 0:0

Leicester 2:1 Huddersfield - 2:1

Liverpool 2:0 Southampton - 3:0

Man United 1:0 Wolves - 1:1

Brighton 1:1 Tottenham - 1:2

West Ham 0:2 Chelsea - 0:0

Arsenal 2:1 Everton - 2:0

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter and RMC match coverage.

Reds Outplay PSG In 5-Goal Thriller

Sports - Football - CL - LFC 3:2 PSG

Liverpool started their 2018-19 Champions League campaign with a five-goal thriller at Anfield, ending up impressive 3-2 winners against French champions PSG on Tuesday night.

The Reds dominated throughout, pushing and detaining any kind of threat from the Parisians, who looked very subdued at times.

Corner for corner, chance after chance went to the home side in the early stages and after just over half an hour, all the dominance finally paid off.

In a rare start Daniel Sturridge headed in Andrew Robertson’s cross six minutes before James Milner doubled the lead from the spot after Georginio Wijnaldum was fouled.

Belgian right back Thomas Meunier pulled one back for the visitors before the break, but it still looked all too comfortable for Jürgen Klopp’s men.

There was not much to see from the £400million frontline of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani, Liverpool were in control.

Mohamed Salah was not at his best either though, losing the ball too many times and when the great Egyptian scored, it was harshly ruled out for a foul.

The Reds were stunned by Mbappé’s equaliser with only seven minutes left on the clock, pouncing and netting past Alisson in the box to make it 2-2.

But then came the super-sub, Roberto Firmino! Put on the bench because of an eye injury he sustained in his side’s win at Tottenham on Saturday, the great Brazilian came on to find the winner deep into stoppage time, beating Alphonse Areola with a low drive from a tight angle.

It was well deserved, with late drama or without, the Reds had outplayed the Red and Blues.

Thomas Tuchel was left wondering what the hell happened again as the last time the German met his compatriot Klopp at Anfield in 2016 with Dortmund, there was late drama and defeat as well. Deja vue!

This result makes it six out of six wins for the Reds, their best start to a season since 1961/62, and they have never been beaten in a European game at Anfield under their great German boss!

Hell yeah! #YNWA (nor get bored!)

Liverpool Goals: Sturridge 30’, Milner pen 36’ and Firmino 91’.

PSG Goals: Meunier 40’ and Mbappé 83’.

HT Stats: LFC 2-1 PSG 

Possession: 52%-48%

Shots: 8-7

On target: 5-4

Corners: 8-1

Fouls: 7-4

Bookings: 1-1

FT Stats: LFC 3-2 PSG

Possession: 52%-48%

Shots: 17-9

On target: 7-5

Corners: 13-1

Fouls: 14-10

Bookings: 1-1

Liverpool Team: 13 Alisson; 26 Robertson, 4 van Dijk (booked 27’), 12 Gomez, 66 Alexander-Arnold; 7 Milner, 14 Henderson (c), 5 Wijnaldum; 10 Mané (3 Fabinho 93’), 15 Sturridge (9 Firmino 72’), 11 Salah (23 Shaqiri 85’). 4-3-3

Subs not used: 8 Keita, 18 Moreno, 22 Mignolet, 32 Matip.

PSG Team: 16 Areola; 14 Bernat, 3 Kimpembe, 2 Thiago Silva (c), 12 Meunier (booked 45’+1’); 11 di María (17 Choupo-Moting 80’), 5 Marquinhos, 25 Rabiot; 10 Neymar, 9 Cavani (23 Draxler 80’), 7 Mbappé. 4-3-3

Subs not used: 4 Kehrer, 19 Diarra, 24 Nkunku, 34 N’Soki, 50 Cibois.

Referee: Cüneyt Çakir

Man of the match: Georginio Wijnaldum

Ground: Anfield

Attendance: 52,478

Click here for my last LFC match.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Twitter, Sky Sports app and RMC Sport match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 5

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 5

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 5:

33 goals - most by Bournemouth and Chelsea = 4 each

262 shots - most by Wolves = 30

92 on target - most by Liverpool = 10

99 corners - most by Man City and Newcastle = 10 each

234 fouls - most by Tottenham and Palace = 17 each

29 bookings - most by West Ham = 5

2 red cards - Morgan for Leicester, Matic for United

5 penalties - 5 scored (King for Bournemouth, Maddison for Leicester, Hazard for Chelsea, Ings for Southampton, Murray for Brighton)

What a game! The clash of the weekend was Tottenham against Liverpool, but it ended up half the competition it was thought and previewed to be at Wembley. The Reds could and should have wiped out Spurs by four or five goals, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah both guilty of wasting that decisive final ball quite a few times. Mauricio Pochettino’s men were without keeper Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli due to injuries, and it showed. Replacement keeper Michel Vorm handed Georginio Wijnaldum the opener, the ref’s watch confirming the header crossed the line in the keeper’s gloves, and served Roberto Firmino with the second, spilling the spinning ball to the Brazilian striker for an easy tap in from close range. The home side did pull one back, Érik Lamela with a nice take and finish off a corner, to make a nervous finish for the visitors, but LFC made it five out of five wins for the first time since 1990, keeping red-faced Jürgen Klopp smiling brightly.

It was a great win for Bournemouth, sharing six goals, two penalties and a sending off between them and Leicester on Saturday afternoon. Ryan Fraser was lethal and should have had a hat-trick but he ended with a decisive brace as the clash ended 4-2 to the Cherries at Dean Court.

What a team! Chelsea kept their 100% record going with a comfortable win against Cardiff, despite falling behind early on against the Welsh side, more on the goals at Stamford Bridge below.

Manchester United ended Watford's unbeaten run in the late kick-off on Saturday, Romelu Lukaku chesting and Chris Smalling turning and smashing goals in at Vicarage Road. Andre Gray pulled one back but David de Gea made sure the London side didn’t complete a comeback with a cracking full-stretch save. Even José Mourinho celebrated the result, showing how much these three points meant to the Portuguese and his side.

Wolves continued their impressive show and run with a win against Burnley on Sunday. It only ended 1-0 thanks to Joe Hart, otherwise it could have been four or five goals for Nuno Espírito Santo’s men. It condemned Sean Dyche’s side to their worst top-flight start in 91 years with only one point from five games.

What a (wo)man! Bournemouth under Eddie Howe, wow, going all the way up, from 21st place in League 2 when he first started in 2008-09, to fifth in the league with the win over Leicester this weekend. The true legendary Cherry doesn't get half the credit he deserves!!!

I loved the very special mascot sisters featured before Manchester City’s win against Fulham on Saturday evening. 97 and over 100 years old, the two have been fans for over 80 years, season-ticket holders since 1933! The London side were all over the place handing Leroy Sané the opener and David Silva doubled the champions’ lead after some brilliant team play in the buildup. It could and should have been 4-0 or 5-0 before halftime with all the chances the Sky Blues had. Raheem Sterling made it three, Silva missed a sitter, Fulham were completely outplayed and slashed to bits and pieces, Pep Guariola’s men running all over them and beating them comprehensively, the win taking the champions up to third.

What a goal! Eden Hazard’s hat-trick, slash, deflected boom and bang from the spot and Willian’s fine finish completed the 4-1 comeback and thrashing for Chelsea against Cardiff, sending the Blues to the top of the table ahead of the Reds on goals difference.

Wilfried Zaha made the difference on his return to Crystal Palace, his skip and shot handing Roy Hodgson's side their second win of the season at Huddersfield.

Much under-fire Mesut Özil was the winner adding to Granit Xhaka’s opener with his first goal since December for Arsenal at Newcastle, Rafa Benítez’s misery continuing at St James’ Park despite Ciaran Clark pulling one back late on. The Gunners held on to make it three wins on the trot for Unai Emery’s men which took them up to seventh.

What the hell?! West Ham’s first win of the season under Manuel Pellegrini was a cracking Super Sunday at Everton. Andriy Yarmolenko starred with a brace, his first start and goals for the club, a fine counter and curl, before Gylfi Sigurðsson hit back with a header and Marko Arnautović secured the win with a clinical finish to make it 1-3 at Goodison Park. The result took the Hammers up to 16th with their first points of the campaign, whilst the Toffees are now 10th with six points from their first five games. Marco Silva will be wondering what the hell of a job he let himself in for.

And what a comeback it was from Brighton at Southampton on Monday night, from two goals down for the second game in a row, to 2-2 thanks to Glenn Murray’s injury-time spot kick. What a difference a break makes!!! Two very different halves and what a save it was by Mathew Ryan in the final seconds to whack away a Saints free kick! Cracking finish to a match you thought was over before it got started!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Tottenham 1:2 Liverpool - 1:2

Bournemouth 1:1 Leicester - 4:2

Chelsea 2:0 Cardiff - 4:1

Huddersfield 0:1 Crystal Palace - 0:1

Man City 4:1 Fulham - 3:0

Newcastle 1:2 Arsenal - 1:2

Watford 2:1 Man United - 1:2

Wolves 1:1 Burnley - 1:0

Everton 2:1 West Ham - 1:3

Southampton 0:0 Brighton - 2:2

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Goals On Sunday, Sky Sports and RMC Sports apps and match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 4

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 4

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 4:

27 goals - most by Arsenal = 3

272 shots - most by Chelsea and Man City = 24 each

93 on target - most by Arsenal = 11

91 corners - most by Tottenham = 10

216 fouls - most by Fulham and Huddersfield = 14 each

41 bookings - most by Arsenal = 4

1 red card - Rashford for Man United

4 penalties - 1 scored (Murray for Brighton)

What a game! Brighton made an impressive comeback despite being two goals down and missing a penalty against Fulham, extending their unbeaten home run which goes back to January. The Cottagers had lead through André Schürrle (43’) and Aleksandar Mitrović (62’), who had also scored and impressed last week. And after Pascal Groß was denied from the spot by Marcus Bettinelli, it looked all doom and gloom for the Seagulls. But Glenn Murray’s brace secured a point for the home side (67’ and 84’ pen), bringing his total to eight goals at home this year, the same as Harry Kane. Chris Hughton’s men had more chances to make it an even better comeback, but he had no complaints about his team’s character and resilience after grabbing the point. For Slaviša Jokanović it definitely felt more like two points dropped than one point won after a competitive encounter, Mitrović ending up as the villain after giving away the late penalty with his handball that decided the match. Tough luck!

What a team! West Ham’s miserable start to the season continued as Wolves made it four defeats out of four for the Hammers under Manuel Pellegrini, sub Adama Traoré with an injury-time winner (93’). Nuno Espírito Santo was understandably very happy after his side’s first top-flight win since 4th February 2012.

Newcastle have just the one point to show after four games, losing the battle at champions Manchester City thanks to a top-quality finish by Raheem Sterling (8’) and full-back Kyle Walker with his first goal for the Citizens in his 52nd appearance for the club, and what a hit it was (52' - his new lucky number?)! DeAndre Yedlin had pulled one back to level the score temporarily for the visitors (30’), but Rafael Benítez’s men could only produce one more shot on target, they were outplayed and -scored by Pep Guardiola’s side in the end, 2-1. The Magpies’ miserable run against the Sky Blues stretches to 22 top-flight meetings without a win, having lost the past 10 clashes away from home. Meh.

What a man! Southampton boss Mark Hughes was a very relieved man at Selhurst Park after his side recorded their first win of the season, only their second away win in the last 15 trips, despite missing a spot kick at Crystal Palace, thanks to goals from Danny Ings (47’) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (92’). Roy Hodgson conceded the Saints were the better side after the Eagles struggled without surprise omission and record club goal scorer Wilfried Zaha. Christian Benteke was frustrated and denied again and again by man of the match Alex McCarthy as the home side bagged their third defeat on the trot. Low.

What a goal! I bet Alisson Becker was glad to get that howler out of the way! Liverpool clung on to the three points after Leicester’s fight back in the second half, to make it four wins out of four for the first time in 28 years. The Reds were leading by two goals at the break, thanks to Sadio Mané (10’) and Roberto Firmino (45’). But the Foxes hit back hard and pulled one back as Rachid Ghezzal netted the Brazilian stopper’s giveaway (63’), Jürgen Klopp’s men were all over the place and looked like they were going to crumble as they have done in the past. But they held on. It was not an impressive performance, but still a win, the keeper will be very relieved. It will have been a very sour birthday cake for Claude Puel to bite in this weekend. Click here for my match notes.

Both Pedro (72’) and Eden Hazard (85’) produced a fine strike and drill finish respectively to continue Chelsea’s 100% start to the season despite not exactly impressing against Bournemouth. It’s the results that count most, right?! Even Maurizio Sarri celebrated the win, which says a lot!!!

What the hell?! Huddersfield’s lead lasted only 87 seconds as Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled the score for Everton (36’) after Philip Billing’s header had put the Terriers ahead. Marco Silva conceded it wasn’t a good game despite maintaining the Toffees’ unbeaten start to the season, whilst David Wagner was happy but a bit frustrated for not seeing more rewards for all the work. Their 81-year wait for a Goodison win goes on!

Cardiff scored their first goal of the season, two in the space of 25 minutes actually (Victor Camarasa 45’+2 and Danny Ward 70’), but still ended up losing against Arsenal in the earlier kick-off on Sunday. Some crazy football, Gunner stopper Petr Čech not at his best, but some splendid goals as well (Shkodran Mustafi 11’, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 62’ and Alexandre Lacazette 81’), all added up to 2-3, the Bluebirds shot down at the final whistle. What a relief it was for Unai Emery, whilst Neil Warnock ended gutted.

Sunday afternoon, both matches went a bit mad in the second half! Watford came back with Troy Deeney (69’) and Craig Cathcart (76’) headers turning the game around against Tottenham to make it four wins out of four season opening fixtures for the first time in 30 years after Abdoulaye Doucouré’s own goal had given Spurs the lead (53’). 
Manchester United meanwhile made a comfortable win at Burnley thanks to Romelu Lukaku’s brace (27’ and 44’) look more difficult going down to ten men after sub Marcus Rashford saw red just ten minutes after coming on (71’). Paul Pogba was denied from the spot by Joe Hart and Lukaku missed a couple of sitters to complete his hat-trick. David de Gea made a couple of late saves to keep a clean sheet, it ended 0-2, José Mourinho much happier (well, he didn’t look it saying his farewells to the fans again after the full-time whistle). It was a Super Sunday indeed, no easy rides for anyone!

My Predictions - Actual Results

Leicester 0:2 Liverpool - 1:2 or my match notes

Brighton 3:1 Fulham - 2:2

Chelsea 2:1 Bournemouth - 2:0

Crystal Palace 0:0 Southampton - 0:2

Everton 1:1 Huddersfield - 1:1

West Ham 0:0 Wolves - 0:1

Man City 4:0 Newcastle - 2:1

Cardiff 1:2 Arsenal - 2:3

Burnley 1:1 Man United - 0:2

Watford 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter, Sky Sports and SFR apps and coverage.

Reds Grind Out Win At Leicester

Sports - Football - Premier League - LCFC 1:2 LFC

Liverpool held on to their lead against Leicester to make it four wins out of the first four league games for the first time in 28 years, despite Alisson Becker's howler (63') and struggling against the Foxes after Sadio Mané (10') and Roberto Firmino (45') had put the Reds ahead at the King Power stadium.

Jürgen Klopp will have been a very relieved manager to have banked the three points despite the dominance by the home side and his team's flaws and errors after the restart in today's lunchtime kick-off.

Claude Puel will have been the more frustrated, having paid for their mistakes in the first half but not being able to make all their chances and breaks count to make a comeback in the second half, especially after Rachid Ghezzal pulled one back in such embarrassing and devastating fashion against the visitors.

Hence, it was a game of two very different halves.

Here are my live match notes as it all unfolded:

Vardy's still suspended for Leicester, Henderson's in for Keita, Lovren's still out for Liverpool. See the full line-up at the bottom of this post.

The King Power Stadium's louddddd!

KICK-OFF

5' Salah puts the rebound off Firmino's attempt wide, good save by Schmeichel against Bobby, Liverpool on top early on.

09:30 MANÉ GOAL! Robertson on the left side of the box, passes back to Mané in the box, through the heart of the Foxes' back defence to give the Reds the lead, easy finish for the Senegalese, his fourth goal, what a gap, too easy, BOOM! 0-1

15' All Liverpool, 66.1% possession to be exact.

20' Robertson again, putting Leicester under pressure, pushing, crossing and passing into the box from the left, but defended and cleared this time.

24' Best chance for Leicester so far, Gray runs clear of van Dijk, shoots, Alisson punches the ball away.

25' First corner for the home side, Alisson catches and throws clear, no pressure.

30' Gomez clears more Leicester pressure after Maddison set up Gray but he couldn't quite get to it.

32' Both sides give and take the ball, Albrighton takes a shot from distance, nowhere near.

33' Another shot from distance, Maddison this time, they are fuming to the ref about something, don't have a clue what they're on about...

34' Leicester free kick, flag is up, that's a waste.

36' Firmino concedes a free kick in the centre circle, trying to be flashy but handling the ball instead.

38' Milner is down, holding his head after clashing with Pereira on the rub. Play is stopped, but not for long, Leicester take their throw seconds later.

40' Another Leicester free kick, headed away. Missing all the fouls... ?! Soft one against Firmino I think this call was...

43' Mané with loads of space on the left, pulls the ball back, Liverpool trying to stretch the Foxes, Salah with a shot eventually, from the edge of the box, Schmeichel saves, out for a Red corner.

44' Milner takes, skipper Morgan heads it away for another Red corner.

45' Milner takes again, FIRMINO HEADS IT IN! The ball somehow bounces or just gets away from full-stretched Schmeichel's left glove and in. 0-2

Just one minute added on, Klopp couldn't have asked for a better start, Puel's birthday cake will taste very sour if it stays this way (he's gonna be 57 tomorrow).

Under Klopp, Firmino has been directly involved in 60 Premier League goals (37 goals, 23 assists), 15 more than any other Liverpool player. BOOM!

RESTART

48' Leicester chance wide, Ghezzal from the right, Alisson thought of going for it but then watched the ball go out for a goal kick.

50' Maddison shot from outside the box, nice curl, too much space, Alisson reads and catches it, easy, both gloves.

52' Maddison took and totally wasted Leicester's first corner of this half, wide. Liverpool throw. The home side keep the pressure up and going though, grabbing the ball back straight away, Maddison in the box again, CHANCE, wide. The Foxes are getting closer and closer, dominating this half so far.

55' Van Dijk is BOOKED for bringing down Maddison, free kick in dangerous territory outside the box for the Foxes. The wall does it's job and blocks any threat for the Reds.

57' Another Leicester corner, CHANCE, somehow Alisson gets the ball, there were three or four Leicester players clear on goal there! I can hear Klopp shouting his face off, no wonder! WTF?!

58' Liverpool counter, Salah mistimes his pass to Firmino, Leicester clear the threat.

59' Chilwell breaks on the left, his cross is headed away by Gomez.

60' LCFC 64%-36% LFC = 2nd half possession, home side coming and hitting back strongly...

61' SUB Iheanacho replaces Albrighton, first change made by Puel, can the home side make all their work pay and hit back?

62' Robertson chance wide, Red subs warming up as well.

62:21 ALISSON SCREWS UP, prances around the ball on the left side in the box, loses it to sub Iheanacho, runs back desperately, Ghezzal (who was booked earlier but I totally missed it) meets the fine pass and nets it, 1-2. WHAT A GOAL TO CONCEDE! OUCH! THAT'S WHY I HATE BACKPASSES!!!

67' The King Power stadium is super loud again now! Klopp is getting his subs ready...

69' Gray on the left, messes up the chance and/or pass, whatever it was supposed to be, Alisson collects. Sarcastic cheers all round.

71' SUBS Klopp rings in the changes, Salah's replaced by Shaqiri, Keita comes on for Henderson.

75' Leicester 5-1 Liverpool in chances this half! Puel is getting the next SUB ready... Gray is replaced by Okazaki.

78' Keita wins a free kick after being wrestled down, Liverpool play around the box, until Okazaki intercepts Shaqiri's pass.

79' Chilwell's down after Alexander-Arnold kicked the ball right into his best bits, OUCH!

80' Reds throw after the Fox recovered... Saying that, they are now waving for help, Chilwell goes off the pitch with his doc...

81' Liverpool try to waste time with the ball in the corner, Shaqiri is brought down and wins a free kick.

82' Milner takes, Mané heads it wide. Last change for the home side, Maddison comes off to be replaced by Amartey.

85' Mané on the left for Liverpool, the Foxes clear the threat, the Senegalese looks hurt in the process, nothing obvious... Seems okay after a few seconds...

86' Alexander-Arnold SHOT nowhere near, goal kick. Red fans are louder now.

87' Van Dijk kicks the ball clear, but Leicester keep pushing, Milner clears, not far, free kick to the home side, taken quickly, Keita blocks...

88' Mané down, free kick to the Reds, Mandy BOOKED for pushing the Senegalese down.

89' Last change for the Reds, Alexander-Arnold comes off for Matip. Free kick wasted, Schmeichel eventually collects the ball comfortably.

90' Shaqiri wins a corner on the right - FIVE MINUTES ADDED ON!!! Klopp doesn't look too happy about that. Milner takes the corner short with Shaqiri in front of him, Liverpool throw, they take their time, of course.

Gomez throw into the box, Leicester run clear, van Dijk puts the ball out for a throw, Klopp is loud and fuming. Liverpool fans singing YNWA... TENSE!!! Can the Reds hold on to the lead?

Milner is BOOKED for blocking and bringing down Pereira, another dangerous free kick, to Chilwell on the left, van Dijk whacks it out for a corner, Schmeichel comes up...

The ref has a word with Morgan and Matip... Van Dijk heads the corner away, Keita is down and free kick is given to the Reds eventually, Ndidi is BOOKED for his elbow/push, seconds to go.

Liverpool keep the ball well... AND HOLD ON TO THE LEAD TILL THE FINAL WHISTLE! THAT'S THREE POINTS - despite the embarrassing goal they conceded, the first of the season against Alisson.

Not a nice nor convincing win, but it's the points that count most and it's four wins out of four for the Reds! Boom!

Leicester Goal: Ghezzal 63'.

Liverpool Goals: Mané 10', Firmino 45'.

HT stats: LCFC 0-2 LFC
Possession: 47.4%-52.6%
Shots: 6-7
On target: 2-4
Offside: 2-0
Corners: 1-3
Fouls: 1-5
Bookings: 0-0

FT stats: LCFC 1-2 LFC
Possession: 51.2%-48.8%
Shots: 12-10
On target: 5-4
Offside: 3-2
Corners: 4-4
Fouls: 9-12
Bookings: 3-2

Leicester Team: 1 Schmeichel; 3 Chilwell, 15 Maguire, 5 Morgan (c), 14 Pereira; 25 Ndidi (booked 95'), 24 Mendy (booked 88'); 11 Albrighton (8 Iheanacho 61'), 10 Maddison (18 Amartey 82'), 31 Ghezzal (booked 61'); 7 Gray (20 Okazaki 76'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 6 Evans, 12 Ward, 21 Iborra, 28 Fuchs.

Liverpool Team: 13 Alisson; 66 Alexander-Arnold (32 Matip 89'), 12 Gomez, 4 Van Dijk (booked 55'), 26 Robertson; 7 Milner (booked 93'), 5 Wijnaldum, 14 Henderson (c) (8 Keita 71'); 11 Salah (23 Shaqiri 71'), 10 Mané, 9 Firmino. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 15 Sturridge, 18 Moreno, 20 Lallana, 22 Mignolet.

Referee: Paul Tierney
Man of the match: Joe Gomez
Stadium: The King Power Stadium
Attendance: 32,149

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All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Sky Sports app and RMC Sport match coverage.