Liverpool vs. Leicester: Score, Grades, Reaction for 2015 Premier League Match

After looking like it had three points in the bag, Liverpool was forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in its English Premier League match against Leicester City on New Year's Day.

The draw is a sad result for the Reds. Not only would a victory have seen the side close the gap to one point behind West Ham United and, at least briefly, pull level with Tottenham Hotspur on 31 points, but also Leicester entered the day with the fewest points in the Premier League. 

Here are the grades from the match, via WhoScored.com, as well as reaction to Liverpool's disappointing tie coming up:

Liverpool	Leicester
Philippe Coutinho - 8.06	Jeffrey Schlupp - 7.89
Emre Can - 7.86	David Nugent - 7.72
Jordan Henderson - 7.43	Riyad Mahrez - 7.67
Steven Gerrard - 7.28	Dean Hammond - 7.12
Raheem Sterling - 7.14	Matthew James - 7.11
Mamadou Sakho - 7.03	Jamie Vardy - 6.94
Kolo Toure - 6.65	Marcin Wasilewski - 6.86
Lucas Leiva - 6.65	Danny Simpson - 6.72
Alberto Moreno - 6.51	Ben Hamer - 6.53
Adam Lallana - 6.43	Wes Morgan - 6.40
Rickie Lambert - 5.97	Ritchie Da Laet - 6.39
Fabio Borini - 5.97	Leonardo Ulloa - 6.29
Simon Mignolet - 5.94	Esteban Cambiasso - 6.23
Lazar Markovic - 5.92	Daniel Drinkwater - 5.76

Liverpool dominated the possession—holding the ball 59 percent of the time—and took a 2-0 lead after the 40th minute thanks to two penalty kicks from Steven Gerrard. According to Squawka Football, those scores pushed the Reds' captain into 16th place on the EPL scoring list:

According to the Premier League's official Twitter account, Gerrard's two penalty kicks did more than just bump him up the all-time scoring list:

Squawka also provided a map of Gerrard's kicks from the spot that put Liverpool in the driver's seat during the first half:

One side story for Liverpool in the match is the status of Mario Balotelli. The Italian star wasn't included in the squad against Leicester, which Ian Doyle noted doesn't bode well for Balotelli's future with the club:

Reds manager Brendan Rodgers recently addressed Balotelli's standing with the squad, saying his style doesn't fit the recently-adopted 3-4-3 alignment, via Mike Whalley of ESPNFC.com:

"

Having worked with Mario during the time he's been here, we've seen that he's a player who better in and around the box, so that level of intensity and pressing isn't a part of his game, but you try to get the best out of the players that you have, and the qualities that they have, so that's something that we'll focus on.

"

Rodgers may focus on getting what he can out of Balotelli at some point, but today's absence was a rather emphatic statement. 

While Liverpool will be kicking itself over this result, Leicester can celebrate back-to-back positive results after defeating Hull City on Sunday. The Foxes' promotion to the Premier League hasn't gone smoothly, but it was always going to be a process. 

A draw against one of the top teams in the league can serve as a stepping stone. David Nugent was masterful, scoring an incredible goal to put Leicester on the board in the 58th minute, which Tony Barrett of The Times described succinctly and appropriately:

It didn't take long for Leicester to beat Simon Mignolet again, as Jeffrey Schlupp found the net in the 60th minute for the tying score. 

The result doesn't inspire much confidence for Liverpool moving forward. The Reds do have time to think about the result with no EPL matches until January 10 against Sunderland, which is another spot where three points should be available as long as there are no late lapses. 

Leicester has built some momentum for the new year with four points in its last two games. Aston Villa is up next on the EPL schedule in nine days. It's another spot where the Foxes can pick up at least one point to escape the bottom of the standings.