Liverpool kept their hopes of a top-four finish alive with a comfortable 3-0 Premier League victory over Leicester City this evening.
Leicester had not kept a domestic clean sheet since November, so keeping Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Red machines at bay was always going to be a tricky task.
However, they started the game on the front foot, with Jamie Vardy forcing Alisson Becker into a smart save with just under 15 minutes gone.
Klopp’s side struggled to find their feet in the game, with Leicester searching for an elusive opening goal to turn the tide in their favour.
However, Curtis Jones struck twice in three minutes after the half-hour mark to put Liverpool firmly in charge.
Mohamed Salah was the architect of Jones’ quickfire double, setting up the Englishman to convert from close range for his first.
However, his second caught the eye even more as he rifled a sumptuous half-volley from the edge of the area that sailed into the top left-hand corner leaving Daniel Iversen stranded.
Leicester were faced with an uphill task with the game level, but Jones’ double took the wind out of their sails and left them to plan damage control in the second half.
With Liverpool poised to bag a seventh consecutive win, Klopp’s side only needed to manage the game with Leicester failing to pose much of a threat.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has shone for Liverpool in a midfield role in recent weeks, continued his impressive performances with the Reds dominating proceedings.
However, they threaded too close to complacency and had Alisson to thank for not conceding before the hour mark after the Brazilian produced a superb save that thwarted Harvey Barnes’ curling effort.
That would be as close as Leicester came to pulling one back before a moment of magic from the eye-catching Alexander-Arnold settled the game.
Having set up the previous two goals, Salah’s third assist of the night was a much easier task, as the Egyptian’s lay-off from a free-kick saw Alexander-Arnold smash home a thunderous effort from 25 yards.
The result sees Liverpool light up the top-four race as they are now one point adrift of Newcastle United and Manchester United, who will be looking over their shoulders in the remaining fixtures.
Meanwhile, Dean Smith’s task has been made a lot harder, with Leicester needing an inspired performance and result to match in their remaining fixtures if they’re to avoid playing Championship football for the first time since 2013/14.
