Liverpool managed to defeat Leicester City 2-1 on Friday Night thanks to a double own goal from the Foxes Wout Faes.
Wout Faes of Leicester City may have momentarily entertained the idea of completing the ideal hat-trick at Anfield on Friday night with a dash of gallows humor.
The Kop could not have done more to encourage the Belgian to complete the set, wanting every cross to end with a header past Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward throughout an entertainingly flawed game. He had already produced an exceptional finish with his left foot and a more clumsy tap-in with his right.
Of course, Faes’ double into his own net is the punchline. By joyously singing about scoring three on holy ground and kindly ignoring the crucial fact that two of them ensured Liverpool’s victory, Leicester supporters graciously accepted the joke.
As a result, Liverpool continued their comeback under the most peculiar circumstances. A fourth straight league victory ensured that they had started to mend the damage done by their terrible season debut, and the distance to fourth had been trimmed to two points.
Because of his ridiculous contributions, Leicester’s center-back’s otherwise competitive performance had to be pitied.
When Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave the visitors the lead after four minutes, Brendan Rodgers would have dreamed of his first victory at Anfield.
Then, a goal was scored that, if it had been at the other end, it would have been a fitting tribute to Pele’s propensity for amazing goals.
Faes may have attempted a thousand more times to make contact with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s right wing cross, but failed to do so. Instead, he caused more problems for his team.
The ball looped and spun as it descended into the one area of the six yard box that the goalie could not cover as the defender swung his left boot in an effort to clear.
Momentarily stunned spectators watched as the ball bounced into the bottom corner, giving Liverpool the equalizer they had been working so hard to get. In an apparent attempt to reassure his teammate that such accidents are uncommon, Ward sped off.
That occurred at the 38th minute of the game. After seven minutes, Faes was consoled for giving Liverpool a 2-1 lead.
Even the Kop must have felt bad for Darwin Nez as he attempted to block his chipped finish from going over the line but instead got his legs twisted and helped put the final touches on it.
Salah squandered a fantastic opportunity to give Liverpool a two-goal lead when he scuffed a one-on-one shot to the post. Nunez brilliantly split the defense with a pass that slipped Salah through, but with only Ward to beat, he mishandled the opportunity.
The goal scorer for Dewsbury-Hall was entirely unmarked in the Liverpool box when Timothy Castange lobbed an appealing pass his way, but he missed with the greatest opportunity of the second half.
Throughout the second half, both teams remained dangerous but lacked quality in front of goal.
Nunez and Salah were given ample opportunities, but neither could defeat Ward, who played with relative ease.
Liverpool hung on and narrowly crossed the goal line to secure all three points in spite of a flurry of hopeful chances from Leicester toward the end of the game.
Only Cardiff’s Danny Malloy in 1959 managed to score two own goals against Liverpool, but Kop great Jamie Carragher once did so against Manchester United, a fact that his Sky colleagues constantly brought up during his Friday night media duties.
Cody Gakpo, a recent addition to Liverpool, watched from the directors’ box, but Liverpool’s failure to field a defensive center-midfielder directly contributed to Leicester’s goal.
Nunez continued to waste opportunities despite more fine work from Liverpool’s buildup, adding to his growing list of squandered opportunities. He might be competing with Erling Haaland for the golden boot if he was more lethal.
If matching Haaland is beyond him at this time, maybe Nez may learn a thing or two from Faes about finishing.
