Carabao Cup 2017/18: Leicester City 2-0 Liverpool, player ratings
It was another familiar tale for Liverpool in their first match of the League Cup. The Reds dominated possession and created chances but were not clinical enough while at the other end their defensive woes continued.
Jurgen Klopp made numerous changes to his side and opted to leave Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Daniel Sturridge, Emre Can, Joel Matip and Simon Mignolet out of the matchday squad.
Leicester also made several changes but the team they sent out was enough to test a fragile Liverpool defence and secure their place in the next round as goals from Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani in the second half gave the hosts a rather comfortable victory.
Leicester City
Ben Hamer - 6/10
Hamer was the busier of the two keepers in the first half but he wasn't tested enough. The most difficult save he had to make was probably an effort from Philippe Coutinho straight at him.
Daniel Amartey - 6/10
Had his handful in the first half as most of Liverpool’s attack came through that side and he didn’t get enough support from his teammates to stop Robertson’s crosses. He had a much better second half.
Aleksandar Dragovi? - 7/10
The Austrian managed to win a lot of headers and played well to shut Liverpool down despite their territorial dominance. He comfortably dealt with some dangerous crosses and runs into the box.
Wes Morgan - 7/10
Morgan commanded the backline well and somehow helped keep Liverpool at bay in the first half despite wave after wave of attack. He was solid in the second half and rarely did the visitors have a sniff.
Ben Chilwell - 6/10
Chilwell made some good interceptions throughout the game. He gave Chamberlain space on a couple of occasions and let the former Arsenal player run at the defence but the youngster did well in a rare outing.
Marc Albrighton - 6/10
Albrighton didn't have a good first half as he didn't cover his full back well enough or create any chances. He rectified those mistakes in the second half. Nothing spectacular but solid.
Vicente Iborra - 7/10
The former Sevilla man didn't enjoy a lot of the ball like he must have been used to but gave his two centre-backs a lot of protection. The Spaniard closed down spaces quickly and forced Liverpool to pass wide or behind several times.
Wilfred Ndidi - 6/10
Ndidi also got a rare outing against Liverpool and like his midfield partner, he too did well to stop Liverpool’s midfield from doing any damage by driving forward. He was subbed off for Hamza Choudhury late in the game.
Demarai Gray - 8/10
Gray was arguably the best player on the pitch. His pace and dribbling created problems for Liverpool's troubled defence and made life difficult for Jon Flanagan. He had the chance to score but saw his effort saved by Ward.
Islam Slimani - 7/10
Slimani couldn't get involved in the game enough during the first half but had a much better second half. He kept Klavan occupied and won few headers before sealing the game with a well-taken goal.
Leonardo Ulloa - 5/10
Like Slimani, Ulloa also had a subdued first half but won few first headers against Klavan and Gomez. He was taken off early in the second half due to an injury and was replaced with Okazaki
Substitutes
Shinji Okazaki - 8/10
Okazaki came off the bench because of an injury to Ulloa and changed the game. He pressed the Liverpool players high up the pitch and started creating problems with his running. He scored the first goal 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Hamza Choudhury - N/A
Came on in the 84th minute as a direct replacement for Ndidi but didn’t have enough time to influence the game.