Having no extra time no doubt has added to the excitement factor to the EFL Cup. That is if you are a neutral like me. The result will disappoint the foxes more than the reds given the lead they held at half time. Brendan Rodgers returned to Anfield, started with a strong eleven which included top scorer Jamie Vardy, Tielemans and Schmeichel. That was a tacit confirmation of Liverpool’s strength in depth. Liverpool gave debut to young defender Billy Koumertio and Conor Bradley started at right back. Koumetio was cold on the first Leicester goal, not up to the Jamie Vardy pace. So was Tsimikas for his second goal. There are plenty of positives from the Liverpool performance especially in the second half but Leicester has got a lot of issues in their team. In what I think is the gamble that cost them the match, Rodgers had Vestergaard on the bench and started with Ndidi in central defense. The Nigerian had a nightmare caught out of position for Minamino goal as well as Jota goal. The James Maddison goal is worthy of winning any match but he needed to be substituted in the second half for a defensive minded midfielder to protect the lead.

Liverpool are relentless in attack and probably deserve this victory. They had a whopping 22 shots at goal the whole match this despite not starting the front three of Salah, Jota and Mane. The penalties all 12 of them were very good including the saved ones. Well, we can say Minamino’s was the worst but the idea was right , give it height so that when the keeper guesses the right side he can’t save it. A chuck of them were down the middle , the keepers tend to commit to either side. If you look at the penalties that were saved they were from lefties who tend to go for their right side 60% of the time. After a trophy-less 2021, a good cup run is what the doctor ordered for Liverpool. They are the joint most wins in this competition with eight after all so they tend to do well in it.