Wasteful Liverpool Knocked Out of Carabao Cup at Leicester

slam Slimani’s superb strike helped Leicester see off a wasteful Liverpool at the King Power Stadium to reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

The Algeria striker fired left-footed into the top corner after substitute Shinji Okazaki had put the Foxes ahead.

That came after Liverpool had dominated a first half in which Philippe Coutinho shone before being replaced.

Okazaki’s arrival sparked the Foxes into life and he latched on to Vicente Iborra’s knock down for the opener.

Summer signings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Solanke both missed good opportunities for the visitors, who named a much-changed side.

Elsewhere, Roy Hodgson got his first win as Crystal Palace boss at home to Huddersfield and Bristol City shocked Premier League Stoke.

A tale of two substitutions

Coutinho, having returned to the Liverpool side for the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday, was by far the best player on the pitch in the first half as he sauntered between the lines to dictate the tempo of the Reds’ attacks.

The tricky Brazilian combined well with Andy Robertson as the former Hull left-back, another summer arrival, put in several crosses that should have been converted.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, making his first start since a £35m move from Arsenal, saw his shot blocked from a smart Robertson cut-back before Solanke headed off target from another pin-point ball.

But Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp opted to replace Coutinho with Ben Woodburn at the break and, despite some impressive running from the 17-year-old Wales international, Liverpool lost their flow.

That was countered with the arrival of Okazaki for the Foxes, with the Japan striker adding pace and intensity for the hosts.

Okazaki reacted first to fire low into the corner for the opener with 25 minutes remaining and then teed up Slimani for a fantastic solo effort that put the game beyond the visitors.

Same old problems for Liverpool
Liverpool had 35 shots on goal when they were held to a draw by Burnley at the weekend. It was a case of déjà vu for travelling Reds supporters on Wednesday night.

Despite making eight changes from Saturday’s side, Klopp’s outfit mustered 21 shots at the King Power Stadium on top of 70% possession, but to no avail.

A long-range Demarai Gray effort came from one of Leicester’s rare first-half forays into the Liverpool half, but when the winger dragged wide after the interval it was the first sign of a shift in momentum.

Okazaki’s breakthrough came after Liverpool failed to clear a corner – a problem that has haunted them this season, with Klopp admitting afterwards he was “sick” of conceding such goals.

Gray could have added gloss to the scoreline as Liverpool looked for a way back into the game late on, only for goalkeeper Danny Ward to turn his strike wide of the post.

It meant a fourth game without a win for Liverpool, whose last victory came against Arsenal in August.

(BBC)