Damon Savenelli goes over three talking points from Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Leicester City.
It was a big night at Anfield and the Reds did not disappoint. The Merseyside club unveiled their new main stand, signifying what many are calling a new era at Liverpool Football Club.
In their second PremierLeaguee win of the season, the Reds triumphed over the Champions 4-1. In the shadow of the new main stand, Klopp’s men put together a convincing performance. Here are three things we learned from Saturday night’s Anfield opener.
Roberto Firmino will be instrumental for Liverpool this season.
Last season saw the Brazilian become Liverpool’s second top goalscorer with 10 goals. The former Hoffenheim man has not wasted any time in getting his name back on the scoresheet. Firmino contributed twice in Saturday’s match.
The attacker’s first goal came in the 13th minute after James Milner played him through. After an excellent first touch, the Brazilian coolly slotted home the effort into the bottom left-hand corner to make it 1-0.
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Firmino’s second goal came in the in the 88th minute after Jordan Henderson played a brilliant through ball to Sadio Mane. With Kasper Schmeichel completely out of the equation, Mane played Firmino through and all he had to do was tap it home. Showing great link-up play with the likes of Sturridge, Mane, Lallana, and Coutinho, Firmino is off to a great start.
Jordan Henderson is capable of holding down the midfield for Liverpool.
After enduring heavy criticism, Henderson stepped up for Liverpool and played extremely well on Saturday. One of the club’s top priorities this summer was to sign a holding midfielder. Klopp and his team failed to do so.
Henderson has been filling that void quite well. Fans have often criticized Henderson for his lacklusterness, and his inability to get the ball forward. Many critics claim that he has not had a good season since the 2013/14 campaign. Henderson was able to silence his critics on Saturday night.
Helping to set up the fourth goal, Henderson played an excellent through ball to Sadio Mane who then played in Roberto Firmino for the goal. If Henderson can replicate Saturday night’s form, Liverpool will hopefully no longer have to worry about the ability of the midfield. Here are some of the captain’s stats from Saturday night, courtesy of Twitter user @LiverpoolIFF: 95% pass accuracy, 2 headed clearances, 3 tackles won, 9 ball recoveries, 77 touches, and 3 clearances. Not too shabby from the Englishmen
Lucas Leiva is a decent backup option at center back.
This might come as a shocker to some readers considering the fact that the Brazilian made an atrocious error at the back which led to Leicester’s only goal. Considering the fact that Lucas had to deal with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Ahmed Musa, and Riyad Mahrez, Lucas held his own.
Let’s face it, Lucas is now 29 years of age and has never possessed a great deal of pace. The fact that he only gave up one goal to the incredibly pacey Leicester attack, is pretty decent. Let’s not forget that Lucas is not even a centre-back, he is a midfielder being played out of position. When played at center back, Lucas has been able to hold it down. He is a reliable 4th or 5th choice center back.
These are some of the things to emerge Liverpool’s Anfield opener against Leicester City. If we missed anything let us know down below in the comments.