90’+4’Full TimeSecond Half ends, Leicester City 0, Liverpool 3.90’+3’Post updateOffside, Leicester City. Jonny Evans tries a through ball, but Kelechi Iheanacho is caught offside.90’+2’Post updateAttempt blocked. Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Youri Tielemans.90’+2’Post updateAttempt saved. Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Youri Tielemans.90’+1’Post updateAttempt missed. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Curtis Jones.90’Post updateAttempt blocked. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Curtis Jones.
Curtis Jones scored twice as Liverpool continued their recent winning streak with a comprehensive victory over Leicester City, pushing the Foxes closer to Premier League relegation. Jurgen Klopp’s side have won their past seven games to bolster their push for a top-four finish and now lie a point behind Newcastle and Manchester United, albeit having played a game more. The Reds scored twice in the space of three first-half minutes through the same combination, Mohamed Salah twice feeding Jones who finished confidently to claim his first Premier League double. It should have been 3-0 before half-time but home goalkeeper Daniel Iversen made a superb reaction save to deny Cody Gakpo from close range. Salah provided a hat-trick of assists by rolling the ball off for Trent Alexander-Arnold to curl a sublime finish into the top corner.
Liverpool face European-chasing Aston Villa at home on Saturday and round off their season against relegated Southampton knowing maximum points in those games may complete a stunning turnaround in an otherwise disappointing season. Leicester look doomed and are prime candidates to join Southampton in the Championship next season. The Foxes have collected just one win in their last 14 games – earning six points in total during that run – and lost at home for a club-record equalling 10th time this season. Their frailties lie at the back where boss Dean Smith made another change by giving a start and handing the captain’s armband to Jonny Evans, who has played one minute of top-flight football in the last seven months. But it was ill-fated defensive partner Wout Faes – the scorer of two own goals in December’s reverse fixture – who was culpable for both of Jones’ strikes. The Belgian lost the flight of the ball for the first, failing to clear as the it dropped from the sky, and was caught out of position for the second, running out to intercept a pass without success. The hosts had shown bright sparks early on but their confidence ebbed away alarmingly once they conceded. Harvey Barnes forced Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson into a fine flying save with a curling effort in the second half, but the sorry home side never looked like making a comeback. The Foxes have fixtures remaining at Newcastle and home to West Ham as they bid to avoid the ignominy of relegation just seven years after their remarkable title triumph.
Curtis Jones was named Player of the Match with an average rating of 8.62, while Leicester’s highest rated player was goalkeeper Daniel Iversen with an average rating of 4.29. Liverpool’s highest rated player was Alexander-Arnold with an average rating of 8.45, followed by Salah with an average rating of 8.16 and Alisson with an average rating of 8.08.