Curtis Jones scored twice, and Trent Alexander-Arnold added a beautiful goal to give Liverpool a 3-0 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League on Monday.
This victory increased Liverpool’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League while increasing the Foxes’ relegation concerns.
With 36 games played and 65 points, Liverpool is fifth in the standings, one point behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who has a game in hand over their competitors.
With two games remaining, Leicester is in 19th place with 30 points, two points behind Everton in 17th.
For the first time since October, Leicester welcomed center defender Jonny Evans back to the starting lineup.
However, the three-time Premier League champion with Manchester United was unable to instill the necessary defensive discipline in his team.
After a sluggish start, Jones gave Liverpool the lead in the 33rd minute with a brilliant first-time strike from Mohamed Salah’s cross after Leicester’s high defensive line was exposed by a long ball over the top from Alisson, the Liverpool goalkeeper.
Three minutes later, the 22-year-old midfielder scored once more, this time with Salah setting him up. Jones took a touch while turning before firing the ball home.
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Seven minutes into the second half, the home supporters made a valiant effort to bring their team back into the game, and Harvey Barnes came dangerously near, but Alisson made an outstanding stop to keep the ball out.
After Salah touched a free kick into his path in the 71st minute, Alexander-Arnold brilliantly finished the game to silence the home crowd once and for all. This ended any chance of a comeback.
When Cody Gakpo put Salah through in the 79th minute, the Egyptian unexpectedly pulled his shot beyond of the left-hand post with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Despite Liverpool’s seventh straight league victory, manager Juergen Klopp remains skeptical that his team can overtake Manchester United or Newcastle to take the top spot.
“I don’t think it’s likely (finishing in the top four), when you see how they (Man United and Newcastle) play, they have so much quality,” he told the BBC.
If they fall and we’re not there, that would be a great shame. So, we must perform our duties.
