Diogo Jota double sinks Leicester to maintain Liverpool’s title pursuit

Liverpool may be in distant pursuit of Manchester City but the chase goes on, thanks to a player whose chances of overhauling the leader in the scoring stakes may be equally remote. Mohamed Salah could go to Africa for a month and retain a sizeable advantage in the race for the Golden Boot but as he made his comeback in a cameo, Diogo Jota struck twice to ensure Brendan Rodgers’ return to Anfield was a less happy affair. This was not Leicester’s worst result of the week but the manner of Jota’s goals underlined City’s defensive deficiencies and, but for Kasper Schmeichel’s heroics, it might have been a thrashing.

Faced with a choice of introducing the new or turning back to the familiar, Jürgen Klopp opted to give Luis Díaz a full debut. The returning Salah was a substitute, perhaps more tired and trusted than tried and trusted after playing extra-time in four matches with Egypt. Klopp nearly got immediate vindication: but for a well-judged intervention from Daniel Amartey, Díaz might have struck in the first minute. The Colombian nevertheless looked at home straight away. A thrillingly direct dribbler who seems to have an extra gear looks a natural Klopp player.

Rodgers had made swingeing changes to the side embarrassed by Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. Youri Tielemans, the captain on Sunday, was benched, along with Harvey Barnes and Caglar Soyuncu. Rodgers reunited the midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Amartey at the heart of his defence. Just after Christmas, they became the only centre-back duo to prevent Liverpool from scoring in the Premier League but hopes of a sequel only lasted half an hour.

But counterattacking menace brought Leicester their December win and almost led courtesy of a similar move. James Maddison