Five things that we learned from Liverpool’s victory over Leicester City…
Liverpool defeated Leicester City 3-1 on Tuesday evening, here are five things that we learned from the victory:
It might not be pretty, but at least we’re grounding out results
We’re not playing the free flowing attacking football that made the Liverpool team of last season so exceptional, but we’ve proved over the last seven days that we are capable of grounding out the right results – keeping ourselves in Champions League contention with a draw in Bulgaria, before beating Stoke and Leicester to push us back up the Premier League table. It wasn’t pretty on Tuesday, and there were some nervous moments at 2-1, even against ten men – but a month ago we might have come away with two draws rather than two wins, and positives have to be taken.
Simon Mignolet’s crisis of confidence is still very much alive
For those hoping Saturday’s performance might have boosted the Belgian’s confidence, those hopes were crushed tonight after another error strewn performance from Mignolet, who must just be grateful that Esteban Cambiasso did not take advantage of his horrific misplaced pass in the first-half. There was little he could do about the unfortunate own goal, but there weren’t many positives for the keeper to take from another difficult night.
Adam Lallana has to start regularly, with Coutinho on the bench
Lallana proved tonight that he deserves to be in the Liverpool team. He scored, linked up well with Rickie Lambert, and consistently provided the Reds with a valuable outlet. Philippe Coutinho, while a more naturally gifted player, has drifted in and out of games too often so far this season, and needs to do more to prove to be picked ahead of Lallana, rather than other way around. The former Southampton man is fully fit after his pre-season injury, and a £25m man needs to be in the team.
We might have written off Glen Johnson too early
Johnson started poorly against Stoke, with some sloppy errors, but gave himself a huge confidence boost with his winning goal. The England international made the run, ducked his head, put his own well-being at risk, all for the team. He showed the commitment and desire that had been lacking in his performances earlier in the season. That continued with another encouraging performance against Leicester, and while it’s not time to be saying he deserves a new long-term contract, it is definitely too early to completely write off any possibility of him having a future at the club.
Steven Gerrard must, must, must be kept at the club
With 15 minutes remaining against Stoke, the scores tied, Gerrard came off the bench and Liverpool won. Against Leicester, he scored once and played a part in each of the other two goals, leading the Reds to success. No, he’s not the player he was ten years ago, and no, he won’t be able to play every minute of every game, but on quality alone, he is still the first name on the Liverpool teamsheet. He can inspire those around him, and will come up big when the club needs him. Liverpool won’t be the same without him, and he still has more to give.