Liverpool fight back to beat Leicester as Wout Faes scores two own goals

Liverpool ended a year they will remember with a night Wout Faes would dearly love to forget. The Leicester defender scored two ludicrous own goals to gift Jürgen Klopp’s team a victory that closed the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham to two points in the race for Champions League qualification.

Brendan Rodgers’ team led through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s early strike and were rarely troubled until Faes sliced two goals into his own net inside seven first-half minutes. Both were easily avoidable and will become established fixtures in any future bloopers’ reel. “3-0 to the Leicester boys,” chanted the away fans. It was one of their better songs on a night when they spewed out the ‘always the victim’ chant towards Liverpool yet again.

Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson laid a wreath of yellow and white flowers on the centre circle before kick off in a tribute to Pelé from both clubs. Liverpool’s captain, Jordan Henderson, laid another wreath in memory of the club’s popular former striker David Johnson, who died last month.

Klopp had tasked his players with starting with the same intensity and sharpness that underpinned victory at Aston Villa on Boxing Day. Leicester’s early struggles against Newcastle on the same day, when they found themselves two goals down inside 10 minutes, had been noted. But so much for best-laid plans. It was Leicester, called in on a day off by Rodgers to analyse their Boxing Day failings, who were positive, assured and energetic from the first whistle. They led after four minutes when Dewsbury-Hall took full advantage of a rupture in the centre of Liverpool’s defence.

The Leicester midfielder had plenty to do after Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka combined to turn Danny Ward’s goal-kick into his