Foxes' Carabao Cup Campaign Ends In Liverpool
Only City's second loss of the season came against a rampant Reds outfit, who have now won seven games in a row in all competitions. The visitors actually led at the break courtesy of Kasey McAteer's third-minute opener on Merseyside, but goals from Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota ended Leicester's pursuit of a fourth League Cup triumph.
"To continue the way we want to play on the ball, I’m very proud of them," Manager Enzo Maresca reflected at full-time. "We finished the first half 1-0. The results are very important for sure, but the most important part is to play face to face against a big team. Apart from the goal, we played in the way we wanted to play and the most important [thing] was to come here against this opponent, in this stadium, and play the way we want. It’s always a chance to learn something."
Marc Albrighton’s return to the XI was the Premier League and FA Cup winner’s 300th appearance for the Football Club, while Conor Coady made a long-awaited debut after signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer. Anfield has been a familiar away day for many of the 2,092 travelling Foxes supporters over past seasons, but they perhaps didn’t expect to be back so soon after last term. Leicester’s start to the Sky Bet Championship campaign has been blistering, with seven wins from eight matches. Jürgen Klopp’s Reds, though, have also been buoyed by five successes in six on the Premier League stage, propelling them to second in the top tier. All in all, this was an intriguing match-up for the neutral despite the divisional difference. Klopp certainly wasn’t underestimating City – saying he expected a ‘proper test’ in his programme notes.
Within three minutes, it was second-tier Leicester who were in front. Kostas Tsimikas was hounded off the ball by Albrighton – the second longest-serving player in the squad. He quickly fed Yunus Akgün, the Turkey international on loan from Galatasaray. On the right channel, he sped away, keeping a watchful eye on the run of McAteer, down the middle. The pass was perfect, unleashing the Academy graduate to run onto it and stroke the ball past Caoimhín Kelleher into the bottom corner. That was McAteer’s fifth goal of the season – putting him away at the top of Leicester’s goalscoring charts.
Liverpool’s response was to lay siege on the visiting goal. Wataru Endo shot inches wide. Harry Souttar then courageously blocked Gakpo’s effort. Jota later somehow scuffed it from two yards out at the far post, with Jakub Stolarczyk saving well from Ben Doak’s follow-up. The Polish stopper was there again to get to Jarell Quansah’s casual touch onto Tsimikas’ corner. The rebound landed to Doak, primed at the far post, but his strike cannoned back of City’s crossbar. A heroic goal-line clearance from Coady – a former Liverpool youth prospect – was all that stopped Gakpo from levelling on 22 minutes. It was a blustery night in the North West, but the Foxes were standing tall and defending valiantly.
Liverpool, nine-time winners of the League Cup, were well on top, but that immediate spell of alarm for Maresca’s visitors had passed. Their hosts were beginning to shoot from range instead of trying to play through City. Those efforts would either miss the target, or be scooped up by Stolarczyk. Tsimikas and Ryan Gravenberch were two such players to see strikes collected by the Foxes ’keeper. The choppy weather was playing a role on the night too. Any high balls often hung in the air before floating down to the nonplussed players trying to project its trajectory.
A goal to the good at the break, City will have expected Liverpool to come at them after the interval. Each side had made 10 changes to their starting XIs but there were none at the break. Behind three minutes into the first half, the Reds were level two into the second. Gakpo’s assured prod of the ball from the edge of the box cut through the area and into Stolarczyk’s bottom corner in front of the Kop. Klopp’s home side sensed a turning of the tide. Leicester needed Coady’s block to stop Jota from completing a quick-fire turnaround. A huge slice of fortune was served City’s way before the hour-mark when Gakpo’s deft header bounced off the bar, but not onto Stolarczyk and in after the former Dunfermline Athletic loanee had committed to his original dive. The goal decision system was required to verify it hadn’t crossed the line. Albrighton was then able to hook the ball away – anywhere he could – to prevent a follow-up on the line.
Szoboszlai, a summer recruit from RB Leipzig, was a second-half introduction for Liverpool and had his say with 20 minutes to play. It was his rocket, 20 yards out, which whistled through the Merseyside air and almost broke the net to put the six-time European champions in front.
An invitation to break from Wilfred Ndidi was accepted gladly by McAteer shortly afterwards. Jarell Quansah, however, blocked his route to goal with a well-timed challenge. Elsewhere, Darwin Núñez rolled the ball the wrong side of Stolarczyk’s post, and Szoboszlai tried to repeat his earlier feat, arrowing the ball a yard or so over from range. When Patson Daka threaded it through to Ndidi down the centre, the Nigerian was barrelling down on goal. Only Endo’s outstretched big toe prevented him from unleashing a shot at goal. Núñez’s effort may have been wayward on the counter for Liverpool, but Jota’s smart flick onto Quansah’s low pass into the danger zone sealed the win for Klopp’s men with 60 seconds of normal time remaining. In added time, Harvey Elliott rued his luck as another goal-line block from Coady kept it at three. These nights won't define Leicester City's season, but there will be aspects which have pleased Maresca nonetheless. Back to league duties.