Liverpool 2-1 Leicester City
Ask any side that’s won the Premier League and they will tell you that you require a bit of good fortune, as well as a lot of skill and character, to be crowned champions.
Well if you assess the SBOBET Premier League 2019 betting odds, it may well be worth a punt on Liverpool as they seem to possess all three of those attributes right now.
This encounter was further proof as the Merseysiders made it eight wins out of eight in the top flight this season and maintained their 100 per cent record.
Highlights of the game
The Premier League 2019 news story looked set to be the end of that perfect run as Leicester City were holding the leaders to a draw going into stoppage time.
The Foxes, of course, have a habit of lifting their game against leading sides. We saw that only a fortnight ago when they saw off Spurs and indeed in this fixture last season when Harry Maguire scored a goal which proved pivotal in the title race.
Then, a communication breakdown between Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and substitute Marc Albrighton ended with the latter bring down SadioMane. After consultation with VAR, the ever-dependable James Milner fired home the match-winning penalty.
It was the final act in a match which had pitted the leaders against an exciting Leicester team for whom the only guarantee was a warm Anfield welcome for Brendan Rodgers.
This was Rodgers’ first return since leaving Liverpool in October 2015.
He saw his new team compete well, despite falling behind five minutes before the break as a fine ball from Milner found Mane, who raced clear before slotting the ball past the onrushing Schmeichel.
The next goal was crucial, and it arrived for the visitors when substitute Ayoze Perez made an instant impact. The Spaniard delivered a low through-ball which caught out Virgil van Dijk and one which James Maddison took in his stride before firing past Adrian.
Yet there was more to come as Albrighton was caught in possession by Mane and clumsily challenged the Senegal international, leaving Milner with a glorious chance which he converted to raucous noise around Anfield.
Name on the trophy?
Key statistics
Milner’s penalty was the 34th time Liverpool have scored a 90th-minute winning goal in a Premier League match — at least nine more than any other side.
Since the start of last season, Leicester have conceded four 90th-minute winning goals in the league — at least twice as many as any other club.
Mane, making his 100th league appearance for Liverpool, scored his 50th Premier League goal for the Reds.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 44 home league games, the longest current run in the top five European leagues, and Liverpool’s second-longest ever in top-flight history. Their previous best streak, 63 matches between February 1978 and December 1980, was eventually ended by Leicester.
Liverpool are now on a run of 17 Premier League victories, bettered only by City’s sequence of 18 straight wins between August and December 2017.
Liverpool are only the second team to win their opening eight Premier League games — Chelsea began their 2005-06 title-winning campaign with nine victories.
The only previous occasion Liverpool won their first eight top-flight games was in 1990-91, when they started with eight wins but ended up runners-up to Arsenal.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 25 league games, last defeated in the league by champions Manchester City in the New Year. They last had a longer undefeated streak between May 1987 and March 1988 (a run of 31 matches).
Liverpool are unbeaten in nine Premier League home matches against Leicester since a 2-0 defeat in May 2000.
Leicester and City were the only sides to pick up a point in the league at Anfield last season.
Leicester have won 31 Premier League points since Rodgers was appointed — only Liverpool (49) and City (46) have better records in that period.
The only former Reds manager to have won a Premier League game away at Anfield is Roy Hodgson, with West Brom in 2012.
Since Rodgers’ first match with Leicester in March, Jamie Vardy has scored more Premier League goals than any other player, netting 14 in 18 games.
Vardy has seven Premier League goals versus Liverpool — only Andrew Cole and Thierry Henry have scored more against the Reds.
What’s next?
It’s a trip to arch rivals Manchester United next for Liverpool followed by a trip to Genk in the Champions League.
Leicester entertain Burnley at the King Power Stadium in their first game following the international break.
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