It had to be him. Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool edged closer to the Premier League title. Check out the best facts and Opta data with our Leicester vs Liverpool stats page.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score the winner as Liverpool went within three points of securing the Premier League title with a 1-0 win at Leicester City.
In turn, defeat meant Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side were relegated with five games remaining, joining Southampton in returning to the Championship after just one season back in the top flight.
Alexander-Arnold has been strongly linked with a summer move to Real Madrid upon the expiry of his contract at Anfield, but within minutes of making his first appearance since then, and somewhat inevitably, he slammed in the only goal of the game. What wasn’t inevitable was the manner of it, with the goal Alexander-Arnold’s first ever with his left foot.
Doubts about his future remain, but there were no doubts about what the goal meant to Alexander-Arnold, ripping off his shirt and roaring to the away fans in his celebration.
Mohamed Salah was unable to add to his 45 Premier League goal involvements for the season, but almost had Liverpool ahead in the early minutes when Luis Díaz played him in, but the Egyptian’s effort hit both posts before falling favourably for the hosts.
Leicester fans haven’t seen their team score in the Premier League at the King Power Stadium since 8 December when Bobby De Cordova-Reid equalised in the 2-2 home draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. They came close to breaking that duck when they were also denied by the woodwork, with Wilfred Ndidi striking the post.
Liverpool won plenty of corners in the first half, seven to be precise, and almost took the lead from one in the 39th minute when Ibrahima Konaté headed towards goal, but Ndidi managed to clear over his own bar from inside his own six-yard box.
The visitors started the second half determined to find the opener, with Dominik Szoboszlai forcing Hermansen into a save at his near post with a low shot from the edge of the box.
Cody Gakpo, Díaz, Kostas Tsimikas and Salah all had decent opportunities to score prior to the hour mark as Liverpool piled on the pressure.
Diogo Jota replaced Gakpo and also had a chance within minutes, heading wide from a Szoboszlai cross.
Leicester thought they finally had their elusive home goal when substitute Patson Daka cushioned the ball to Conor Coady to head in, but Daka had fouled Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson prior to his pass.
Arne Slot subbed on Harvey Elliott and Alexander-Arnold with 20 minutes remaining, and because the Premier League loves nothing but the utmost narrative, it was the latter who fired Liverpool ahead. A corner from Tsimikas saw Salah hit the post with a header, before Jota hit the bar with a volley, but Alexander-Arnold came onto the loose ball to fire into the net with his weaker left foot for the first time in his career.
Things weren’t settled yet, with the impressive Stephy Mavididi setting up Facundo Buonanotte for a chance, but the Brighton loanee sliced his effort wide, while the Argentine hit another shot over the bar in the closing minutes of stoppage time.
Jeremy Monga, the 15-year-old who recently became the second-youngest player in Premier League history, came off the bench with five minutes remaining, but that was as much as the home fans had to celebrate as the final whistle condemned Leicester to another season back in the Championship.
Liverpool could be champions as early as Wednesday if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace, but assuming that doesn’t happen, Slot’s men have the chance to seal things themselves next Sunday when they host Tottenham Hotspur as they march towards a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Leicester vs Liverpool stats from their Premier League meeting at King Power Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Leicester vs Liverpool: Post-Match Facts
Leicester have been relegated from the Premier League for the fifth time (1994-95, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2022-23, and 2024-25), with only Norwich (6) and West Brom (5) ever suffering more relegations in the competition.
Liverpool picked up their 24th win of the Premier League campaign; only recording more through 33 games of a top-flight season on two previous occasions (25 in 2018-19 and 29 in 2019-20).
Leicester have become the first team in top-flight history to go nine consecutive home league games without scoring. Today was also the first league match at the King Power Stadium in which they’ve failed to have a shot on target since February 2023 (0 v Arsenal).
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