Leicester were unable to break their three game losing streak against league leaders Liverpool. The Foxes have now conceded ten goals in their past three games with four of them coming against Newcastle.
It was the away side to take the lead thanks to Jordan Ayew with his shot from inside the box taking a deflection from Virgil Van Dijk. It was the first goal that Leicester had scored in the past three games.
However, a Cody Gakpo goal just before half time would give The Reds some much needed confidence. Goals from Curtis Jones and Mo Salah would finish a game that Liverpool deserved to win.
Here are four things that we learnt from the David and Goliath clash.
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Promising Stolarczyk
It was a Premier League debut for Polish goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk and managed to impress Leicester City fans. The 24-year-old has only played for the club ten times with most of his appearances coming in cup competitions.
First choice keeper Mads Hermansen is currently out of action with a groin injury picked up at St James Park. Second choice keeper Danny Ward has fallen out of favour with the Foxes fanbase after multiple poor performances during this season.
Stolarczyk made a handful of good saves against the league leaders and managed to keep Darwin Nunez away from goal. He also kept Liverpool's corner routines quiet thanks to his clearances which saw the away side start multiple counter attacks.
Even though he conceded three goals, many fans applauded manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy for the change. It seems that the Pole could become the new second choice keeper over Ward, but that question will have to be answered in Leicester's next game against Man City.
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Leicester's anti air force
Leicester have not had many crosses into the box that they have needed to defend this season which means that Jannik Vestergaard has not been able to use his 6 foot 6 inch frame much this season.
However, Liverpool's style of play emphasized the use of crosses into the box from Trent Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Even with some of the world's best crossers playing against them Leicester have a perfect counter in the Danish international.
The 32-year-old was a big role in the defensive style of play that Van Nistelrooy wanted to use. He made nine of the total 58 clearances during the match and prevented most Liverpool chances that came from the wide areas.
It was a big improvement from his last match against Wolves in which he only played one half of football. The Dane will be hoping that he is able to use his height more in the upcoming fixtures and deliver more good performances because of it.
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Importance of Ayew
When the Leicester lineup was announced, many fans online criticised the continued use of Jordan Ayew in the lineup. Many fans wanted to see of Facundo Buonanotte starting once again after not starting a game since December third.
It would take the Ghanaian only six minutes to put his side in front thanks after turning away from Robertson in the box. It was the only shot he had during the match and would not provide much more in the opposition half.
But Ayew's importance is not shown when Leicester are attacking, it is in the defence where the 33-year-old really shines in his role as a defensive winger.
One of Ayew's best qualities is his ability to slow the tempo of a match down and win fouls which is something that was prevalent during the Liverpool game. He was fouled seven times, the most of any player and was able to slow Liverpool down.
Liverpool tried to play high tempo football and play around the Leicester players but the Ghanaian made it very hard to do so. It is something that he has done throughout the season, and something that could be crucial if Van Nistelrooy decides to set his team up defensively.
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New day, new style
As well as debuting a new goalkeeper the Dutch manager also debuted a new style of football when his team is out of possession. It is uncertain whether this style will become a permanent feature or whether it was a one off for the trip to Anfield.
Van Nistelrooy played a defensive 4-2-3-1 formation that looked to put a lot of their players in front of the net and hit the Reds on the counter attack with long balls forward to Patson Daka.
The Foxes kept that formation when they were in possession but that would change when they did not have the ball, which was most of the match. the 4-2-3-1 would change into a 4-4-2 with Daka and Bilal El Khannouss as the strikers who would drop back.
The gameplan was to deny Liverpool from getting crosses into the box and slow the pace down to be able to hit them on the counter attack out wide through Stephy Mavididi.
Even though they could not get anything from their away trip to Liverpool, there is a possibility that they could in their next match if they keep this style. A struggling Man City side visit the King Power Stadium and it will be a big game for both sides.
