Liverpool vs. Leicester City: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Liverpool sealed their second win of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign on Saturday after beating reigning champions Leicester City 4-1 thanks to goals from Roberto Firmino (two), Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana. 

Lucas Leiva started at centre-back in place of the injured Dejan Lovren, and the Brazilian was responsible for a defensive howler that gifted Leicester's Jamie Vardy his second goal in as many games.

Manager Claudio Ranieri's Leicester side remained defiant until the end in what was a back-and-forth clash, but the defeat at Anfield means the Midlands outfit have still won just one of their four games this season.

Saturday's result was a major boon for the Reds, but Russian football writer Artur Petrosyan pointed out the poisoned chalice of their system thus far:

Both teams came into Saturday's clash with four points from their first three games of the season, and it was Liverpool who took a backseat in possession during the early exchanges.

However, the Reds struck first. Goal's Melissa Reddy highlighted the contribution from James Milner, who was again playing at left-back, as Firmino cut through Leicester's core to slot home the opener:

Liverpool built in confidence following that initial incision, but manager Jurgen Klopp could hardly breathe easily until his men extended the cushion.

Thankfully for him, the Merseysiders took it upon themselves to step things up a notch on the half-hour mark, with Mane getting on the end of a passing movement that took them from one end of the pitch to the other in no time.

The chance looked as though it had evaded the hosts, only for Daniel Sturridge to back-heel a beautiful pass into Mane's feet. Foxes No. 1 Kasper Schmeichel couldn't keep the close-range effort out.

Blogger Liam Canning noted just how essential Sturridge was in the manoeuvre, but Mane grabbed the bulk of the headlines following the best attack of the match:

Ranieri needed and got a quick response from his troops, however, and it appeared as though Liverpool were swiftly struggling to cope with their newfound goal advantage.

The Telegraph spared no expense in describing the magnitude of Lucas' obvious pass across the face of goal to Vardy, despite appearing to have time on his hands just yards from goal:

Liverpool stopper Simon Mignolet was fortunate not to have been left red-faced close to half-time when he came to claim a looping cross, only to see Robert Huth's header bounce off the top side of the crossbar.

A one-goal cushion was perhaps fair to Liverpool going in at the break, but Leicester had made progress in stamping some authority on the matchup close to the interval.

Liverpool picked back up where they left off in the second half, and 11 minutes was all Lallana needed to thunder in their third and restore a two-goal cushion for the hosts.

There was nothing pretty about the Englishman's strike as he hoofed a seemingly innocuous ball into Schmeichel's top-left corner, and Bleacher Report's Jack Lusby praised his good form of late:

Leicester were never out of the fixture altogether and had their chances through the likes of Vardy and Danny Drinkwater, but Joel Matip was fortunately on finer form than his centre-back partner to keep the Foxes at bay.

Despite his earlier shake against the encroaching Huth, Mignolet showed confidence to reject Vardy after being found through on goal, keeping Liverpool out of reach for the time being:

The Reds reaped the reward for their patient defence, and Mane took advantage of Schmeichel's late advance up the pitch, showing the stopper a clean pair of heels before putting Firmino through for his second.

The Brazilian did well to steady himself and cut inside the defender to slot into an open net, but Merseyside football writer Richard Buxton agreed Mane was the catalytic converter in this instance:

Liverpool's victory will keep the mood buoyant at Anfield, particularly after the stadium was upgraded to fit a larger audience, something which might have well had an impact on Saturday.

Despite retaining much of last season's title-winning squad, Leicester are still scraping to rediscover some of their form from 2015-16, and preparations now turn to their UEFA Champions League debut against Club Brugge on Wednesday.

Post-Match Reaction

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Their start to the season has been far from perfect, but if Saturday's performance did nothing else, it proved Klopp's Liverpool have immense potential for entertainment when playing to their fullest.

And Klopp emphasised as much in his post-match comments:

Speaking to BT Sport after the result (h/t BBC Sport), the German also moved to ease the pressure on out-of-position Lucas, who was responsible for that embarrassing defensive gaffe: 

"

At the end it was a great performance over 90 minutes. I thought it was a good challenge for us today because I know we can be really strong. If something does not work we have to show we can stay in the race, and believe in our style. We played calm football, but we can’t create with each pass, each movement.

Leicester have big quality, are always a threat, even after we scored our third. It was a good performance in a wonderful place.

"

Referencing the new main stand, Klopp credited Anfield as a "wonderful place to play," which is big praise from a man arriving at the club from the Yellow Wall of Signal Iduna Park.

Leicester manager Ranieri said his side need to "clear minds" before their next match, a midweek fixture against Club Brugge in their Champions League bow.