EPL: Ndidi sparkles, Iheanacho benched as Leicester stun Liverpool to go second

NIGERIA midfielder Wilfred Ndidi posted a man-of-the-match performance on Saturday as Leicester City rose to second place in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Liverpool at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes came from behind to beat the champions, with Ndidi controlling the midfield as well as contributing an assist.

Liverpool, who have struggled for form in recent weeks, took the lead through Mohamed Salah but James Maddison, Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes responded to give Brendan Rodgers’ side the big win over the manager’s former club.

After a goalless first half which Liverpool dominated but Leicester City had the best chances, the deadlock was finally broken 22 minutes into the second half by the champions when Salah found the top corner of the far post off a clever Roberto Firmino assist.

Liverpool looked to be cruising to redemption after the 4-1 home defeat to Manchester City last weekend, but Leicester were back level within 11 minutes.

Maddison’s free-kick from the edge of the Liverpool box evaded everybody including Alisson to nestle into the net. After the goal was initially ruled out for offside to Daniel Amartey who was interfering with play, it was given following a VAR review.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who committed two costly errors in the Manchester City defeat, then gifted Vardy with an open goal in the 81st minute after colliding with his defender and leaving the goalposts unprotected.

Ndidi, who repeatedly broke up Liverpool play with his impeccable tackles and interceptions, was involved in Leicester City’s third goal, slipping a perfectly weighted pass to Barnes to finish on the counterattack in the 85th minute.

Apart from his brilliant assist, Ndidi made more ball recoveries (19) in a single match than any other outfield player in the Premier League this season.

His compatriot at Leicester City, Kelechi Iheanacho was an unused substitute on Saturday despite his match-winning goal in the FA Cup in midweek.

Leicester City overtook Manchester United into second place with 46 points from 24 matches, while Liverpool remain in fourth place with 40 points from 24 matches and their title defence in tatters.