Curtis Jones scores twice as Liverpool brush aside Leicester to maintain their winning streak and push the Foxes closer to relegation.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have won their past seven games to bolster their push for a top-four finish and now lie a point behind Newcastle and Manchester United, albeit having played a game more.
Another dismal loss for Leicester leaves the 2016 Premier League champions firmly rooted in danger in 19th position, two points adrift of safety with only two games remaining.
The Reds scored twice in the space of three first-half minutes through the same combination, Mohamed Salah twice feeding Jones who finished confidently to claim his first Premier League double.
It should have been 3-0 before half-time but home goalkeeper Daniel Iversen made a superb reaction save to deny Cody Gakpo from close range.
Salah claimed his third assist in the second period by laying off a free-kick for Trent Alexander-Arnold to curl a sublime finish into the top corner.
Liverpool maintain hunt for top-four finish
Has Liverpool’s charge for a Champions League spot come too late?
The two Uniteds above them need two wins from their last three games to guarantee a top-four finish but Liverpool are right on their tails and poised to profit from any mishaps.
The Reds started slowly at Leicester, Luis Diaz smashing into the side-netting and Fabinho blazing over the pick of their early openings.
But they clicked into gear on the half-hour mark as midfielder Jones took his tally to three goals in his last four games.
His first was a controlled finish at the far post from Salah’s deep cross and the second he thumped home following the Egyptian’s through ball.
Salah provided a hat-trick of assists by rolling the ball off for Alexander-Arnold’s stunning second-half strike, but the Egyptian must wait for his 20th goal of the campaign after a remarkable miss late on, putting wide when through on goal.
Liverpool face European-chasing Aston Villa at home on Saturday and round off their season against relegated Southampton knowing maximum points in those games may complete a stunning turnaround in an otherwise disappointing season.
Foxes continue wretched run
Leicester look doomed and are prime candidates to join Southampton in the Championship next season.
The Foxes have collected just one win in their last 14 games – earning six points in total during that run – and lost at home for a club-record equalling 10th time this season.
Their frailties lie at the back where boss Dean Smith made another change by giving a start and handing the captain’s armband to Jonny Evans, who has played one minute of top-flight football in the last seven months.
But it was ill-fated defensive partner Wout Faes – the scorer of two own goals in December’s reverse fixture – who was culpable for both of Jones’ strikes.
The Belgian lost the flight of the ball for the first, failing to clear as the it dropped from the sky, and was caught out of position for the second, running out to intercept a pass without success.
The hosts had shown bright sparks early on but their confidence ebbed away alarmingly once they conceded.
Harvey Barnes forced Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson into a fine flying save with a curling effort in the second half, but the sorry home side never looked like making a comeback.
The Foxes have fixtures remaining at Newcastle and home to West Ham as they bid to avoid the ignominy of relegation just seven years after their remarkable title triumph.
Leicester City
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Squad number31Player nameIversen
Average rating4.29
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Squad number10Player nameMaddison
Average rating4.26
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Squad number7Player nameBarnes
Average rating4.23
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Squad number6Player nameEvans
Average rating4.14
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Squad number21Player nameRicardo Pereira
Average rating4.06
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Squad number9Player nameVardy
Average rating3.97
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Squad number8Player nameTielemans
Average rating3.85
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Squad number25Player nameNdidi
Average rating3.68
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Squad number27Player nameCastagne
Average rating3.66
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Squad number3Player nameFaes
Average rating3.65
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Squad number15Player nameSouttar
Average rating3.64
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Squad number42Player nameSoumaré
Average rating3.61
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Squad number20Player nameDaka
Average rating3.44
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Squad number33Player nameThomas
Average rating3.42
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Squad number37Player nameTetê
Average rating3.38
Liverpool
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Squad number17Player nameJonesAverage rating
8.62
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Squad number66Player nameAlexander-ArnoldAverage rating
8.45
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Squad number11Player nameMohamed SalahAverage rating
8.16
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Squad number1Player nameAlissonAverage rating
8.08
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Squad number26Player nameRobertsonAverage rating
8.01
-
Squad number5Player nameKonatéAverage rating
7.87
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Squad number4Player namevan DijkAverage rating
7.83
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Squad number3Player nameFabinhoAverage rating
7.73
-
Squad number14Player nameHendersonAverage rating
7.66
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Squad number18Player nameGakpoAverage rating
7.59
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Squad number23Player nameDÃazAverage rating
7.50
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Squad number7Player nameMilnerAverage rating
7.15
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Squad number20Player nameDiogo JotaAverage rating
6.99
-
Squad number28Player nameFábio CarvalhoAverage rating
6.75
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Squad number19Player nameElliottAverage rating
6.74
Line-ups
Leicester
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 31Iversen
- 21Ricardo PereiraBooked at 53minsSubstituted forThomasat 67’minutesBooked at 90mins
- 3Faes
- 6EvansSubstituted forSouttarat 89’minutes
- 27Castagne
- 42Soumaré
- 25NdidiSubstituted forDakaat 61’minutes
- 10Maddison
- 8Tielemans
- 7BarnesSubstituted forTetêat 61’minutes
- 9Vardy
Substitutes
- 12Smithies
- 15Souttar
- 16Kristiansen
- 18Amartey
- 20Daka
- 24Mendy
- 26Praet
- 33Thomas
- 37Tetê
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-Arnold
- 5KonatéBooked at 86mins
- 4van Dijk
- 26Robertson
- 14HendersonSubstituted forMilnerat 74’minutes
- 3Fabinho
- 17JonesSubstituted forCarvalhoat 84’minutes
- 11SalahSubstituted forElliottat 88’minutes
- 18Gakpo
- 23DÃazSubstituted forJotaat 74’minutes
Substitutes
- 2Gomez
- 7Milner
- 19Elliott
- 20Jota
- 21Tsimikas
- 28Carvalho
- 29Arthur
- 32Matip
- 62Kelleher
- Referee:
- Craig Pawson
- Attendance:
- 32,225
Live Text
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Match ends, Leicester City 0, Liverpool 3.
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Second Half ends, Leicester City 0, Liverpool 3.
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Luke Thomas (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Luke Thomas (Leicester City).
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Offside, Leicester City. Wout Faes tries a through ball, but James Maddison is caught offside.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Harry Souttar replaces Jonny Evans.
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Foul by Fabinho (Liverpool).
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James Maddison (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by James Milner.
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Attempt saved. Jamie Vardy (Leicester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Harvey Elliott replaces Mohamed Salah.
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Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool).
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James Maddison (Leicester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Fábio Carvalho (Liverpool).
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Boubakary Soumaré (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Fábio Carvalho replaces Curtis Jones.
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Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Wout Faes.
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Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Luke Thomas.
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