Leicester vs Liverpool player ratings as James Maddison free-kick and Alisson howler secure Foxes victory

Jamie Vardy and VAR helped Leicester City make a dramatic comeback to win 3-1 against Liverpool at the King Power Stadium.

Mohamed Salah scored the opener with just over 20 minutes to play, placing it beyond Schmeichel after a gorgeous flick from Roberto Firmino before Maddison’s dramaticequaliser was given by VAR despite Daniel Amartey seemingly straying offside.

However, Vardy pounced on an error by Alisson and new signing Ozan Kabak to fire the ball into an empty net, before Harvey Barnes raced away to seal the win and all three points.

The champions dominated possession in the first half, but Leicester arguably had the better chances to open the scoring in a goalless period with Vardy hitting the woodwork.

The result sends the Foxes second in the Premier League just four points behind Manchester City, while the Reds remain fourth after losing their third successive game.

Leicester City

Kasper Schmeichel – 7. Although Firmino would have been offside, the Dane made a cracking save to deny the Brazilian. He struggled with distribution at times, though.

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Daniel Amartey – 7. He made a goal-saving challenge to deny Mane the opening goal after Salah’s miscued finish.

Jonny Evans – 6. Booked for a professional foul on Mane as Liverpool looked to attack dangerously as the first half drew to a close.

Caglar Soyuncu – 7. He started well, dealing with some uncomfortable crosses to keep Liverpool at bay.

Ricardo Pereira – 6. The Portuguese fullback dealt well with the enormous threat of Salah, and made a number of key clearances.

Wilfred Ndidi – 8. The Nigerian is an excellent presence in midfield, and consistently broke up play in the midfield to kickstart Leicester attacks.

Youri Tielemans – 6. The Belgian struggled to exert his influence on the game, and missed a number of opportunities to play in Vardy.

Marc Albrighton – 6. Completely anonymous.

James Maddison – 7. He was a constant threat in possession, but struggled to create anything of real substance before his free kick fizzed into the back of the net.

Harvey Barnes – 7. Struggled against Alexander-Arnold, and when he finally got in behind the winger was let down by a horrible first touch. He more than made amends to seal the win with a confident finish past Alisson.

Jamie Vardy – 7. Vardy was unlucky not to score with a deft lob over Alisson, and he should have opened the scoring with a header that was right at the Brazilian. He missed a golden opportunity at the end of the first half, hitting the crossbar when clean through. Vardy was in the right place at the right time, as he so often is, to take advantage of the Liverpoolcatastrophe.

Substitutes:

Ayoze Perez – 6.

Hamza Choudhury – 6.

Alisson Becker and Jordan Henderson react to conceding

Liverpool

Alisson – 7. Made himself big to deny Vardy at the end of the half when the English forward was in behind. Ran into Kabak for no reason to cause the Leicester winner, but made a great stop to deny Vardy a second.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. Dealt with the threat of Barnes well, and got forward at will. His deflected free kick rattled the crossbar.

Ozan Kabak – 5. He was beaten by Vardy early, but recovered soon after until he was collided into by Alisson.

Jordan Henderson – 8. The Liverpool captain’s ability to play long balls out from the back were quarterback-esque, picking out Salah over the top on several occasions.

Andy Robertson – 7. The Scot was offensively brilliant as usual, bombing down the left-hand side, but he was also brilliant defensively too.

James Milner – 6. Unfortunately had to exit the game early with injury, replaced by Thiago.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 6. The Dutch midfielder was solid in midfield, linking up well with Thiago to keep Liverpool stable as the game ticked on.

Curtis Jones – 5. The 20-year-old never looked comfortable, and gave possession away on a number of occasions.

Mohamed Salah – 7. The Egyptian hesitated when he perhaps should have done better when excellently played in by Henderson. He was rather wasteful before his clinical finish gave Liverpool the lead.

Roberton Firmino – 6. The Brazilian should have scored from close range, although it would have perhaps been ruled out for offside. His clever flick set up Salah’s goal.

Sadio Mane – 6. He was kept quiet today – not Mane’s day.

Substitutes:

Thiago – 7. Moved the ball around well, keeping Liverpool on the front foot for the majority of the game. His rash challenge on Barnes was fortunate to not be given as a penalty.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6.

Xherdan Shaqiri – 6.

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