The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara were all on the injury list of Premier League champions Liverpool as they prepared to take on high flying Leicester City at Anfield on Sunday night.
A Leicester team which has gotten the most penalties this season must have thought the midfielders standing in for the defenders would be quick to trip up a darting run from Jamie Vardy or entangle Maddison’s quick feet to win them another spot kick.
The foxes have been awarded a record breaking 8 penalties from 8 matches this season but they would have to look for another game to add to that tally as Klopp’s impromptu back line showed total discipline and precision on all their tackles. The Foxes back line on the other hand had their hands full with Mane’s maneuvering, Jota’s paceful directness and a rejuvenated Firmino who got his second goal of the season to wrap up a brilliant 3-0 victory for the champions.
A total of 5 changes were made by the kop from the team that drew 1-1 against Manchester City but the quality was still unmistakeable as Liverpool limited the foxes to just four shots on target while their own front three set up shop comfortably in their opponents half, even pressing them off the ball, forcing an own goal from a cross as well as forcing the Leicester defenders to play long balls and disrupt whatever game plan they had before entering the field.
Leicester can also point to injuries of this own as their best defenders from last season Soyuncu and Pereira as well as assertive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi are all sidelined but the truth is, when Liverpool play with at the level they did on Sunday, there is nothing any team in the world can do about it.