Full Time: Liverpool 2-1 Leicester City
Liverpool won the Premier League Asia Trophy, after they defeated Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday, thanks to goals from summer signing Mohamed Salah and star playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
Manager Jurgen Klopp named a nearly full-strength line-up, with Loris Karius starting in goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren and captain James Milner forming the back four. Coutinho started as part of the midfield three with Gini Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana, while Salah, Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino formed the attacking trident.
The Reds were off to a lively start, with Coutinho getting a shot at goal as early as the 3rd minute. But it was Leicester who took the lead in the 10th minute when Islam Slimani bundled in a header from a Christian Fuchs’ cross after some neat work by the Austrian and Marc Albrighton down the left-hand side. Soon after, the Foxes had another chance after Riyad Mahrez was felled on the edge of the box. But Liverpool managed to deal with the set-piece.
A mistake from Karius almost allowed Slimani a sniff at goal, but the Algerian failed to control the ball and Liverpool survived. They continued to attack with verve and soon found the back of the net in the 20th minute, after Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah combined beautifully, with the latter heading a chipped ball from the Brazilian, into the back of the net.
The end-to-end action continued as Firmino had a shot at goal, while Albrighton had a chance for the Foxes. But it was the Reds who inched ahead on the verge of half-time, with a marvelous finish from Coutinho that gave the Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel no chance.
Klopp made four changes at the halfway mark, with Jordan Henderson, Marko Grujic, Ragnar Klavan and Daniel Sturridge coming on. Vardy had a chance soon after the restart, but Karius made a brilliant block to deny the Englishman. Both sides made more changes and following the substitutions, Liverpool looked a little disjointed. Substitute Ryan Kent showed glimpses of brilliance, as the clock ran down without any further changes to the scoreline.
It was an impressive game for Klopp’s brigade, with the attack linking up really well. Salah was impressive, so was Firmino. But it was Coutinho who was the man of the hour for Liverpool, running the show on his own. He was taken off to a rousing ovation.
Here are some of the best reactions from the Liverpool fans on Twitter, following the win:
https://twitter.com/Le0Yu1/status/888767401529094145
https://twitter.com/shaanrajput17/status/888771235441770496
https://twitter.com/AnfieldNation/status/888749793354412032
https://twitter.com/JamesPearceEcho/status/888768119749042181
https://twitter.com/SumptuousSadio/status/888768485345460224
If only we could lift the premier league in the same manner
— Syed Muhammad Umar (@umerthekopite) July 22, 2017
Wish lucas was here for it tbh.
— Kxng (@Khari_MCMXCVII) July 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/MakTwian/status/888768362729353216