The general consensus surrounding Claudio Ranieri’s sacking was that it was absolutely ludicrous. A man who had very little respect coming into his job at Leicester then went on to gain everyone’s trust and then went on to do the unthinkable in winning the Premier League title. Less than a year later he now finds himself unemployed. My personal opinion and the opinion of many people is that the sacking was incredibly uncalled for. Whether senior players had a part in his sacking or not there’s no reason for the owners to take such abrupt measures only a matter of days after saying they will stand by Ranieri through thick and thin. Using the great man’s own words, they are in Champions League man cmon! But regardless of whether that was the correct decision or not, it’s happened and Leicester finds themselves in a relegation battle. Now with the caretaker manager, Craig Shakespeare at the helm could the Foxes turn things around or would Ranieri’s sacking prove pointless?
Leicester City’s first post-Ranieri challenge came in the form of a Premier League game against Liverpool. The Foxes were at home and so if there’s ever a time to make a statement of intent it’s after a significant change at home to a big side, the stage was set. Heading into the game third from bottom meant that from here until the end of the season any points that can be gained could be decisive in the outcome of Leicester’s season. Liverpool, on the other hand, found themselves in the race for the top 4 and if they are the achieve this you’d hope that they could work their way into a fairly routine win at Leicester. The side from the North East hadn’t played a fixture in two weeks meaning that they should be well drilled in what needs to be done. But this lack of game time could also have a negative impact on the players.
Kickoff
Both Leicester and Liverpool fielded very familiar and predictable sides other than Emre Can coming in for the injured Jordan Henderson.
The game started with an incredible intensity, both sides had chances early on in what appeared to be turning into a fantastic game for neutral viewers. The breakthrough in the game came in the 28th minute when the hero of last season, Jamie Vardy found the back of the net after Vardy found space in behind the Liverpool defense and was able to cooly finish past Mignolet. A stat to sum up the quality of Leicester’s season thus far, this was their first goal in 2017 and it came
638 minutes after their last goal. This goal completely lifted the King Power Stadium and it could be said that what we were witnessing was Leicester of old. This feeling continued later on in the first half as Danny Drinkwater was able to fire a bouncing loose ball into the far bottom corner superbly.
The Foxes didn’t let themselves down in the second half either as only 15 minutes into the half they grabbed a third through Vardy once again. Fuchs whipped in a fantastic cross finding Vardy in the center who was able to guide a header into the far post. Liverpool managed to snatch a consolation goal from Coutinho but really this was Leicester’s day.
A shining diamond in what really has been a sad few days for the club. Is the Leicester of last season back or is this merely a special performance because of the conditions? We’ll have a better idea after their game against fellow strugglers Hull city at the weekend.
