Thank you very much for joining me. Here is Ben Fisher’s report form the King Power.
Conor Coady: “We’ve not been good enough all year. I thought we played quite well today but looking back on the season, it’s not been good enough. We’ve taken some stick and we will continue to do so and we deserve it.
“I could speak to you about all day because I am as annoyed as anyone. We have not done enough as a club all season. We have to put the club in the best position we can to have a good summer and get back into the Premier League. We have to win a game of football, we have to put the club and the people at this club first.
“We’ve tried out best, we’ve got leaders in our dressing room. It has taken a hit on us because we’ve not been winning games. We were not strong enough to get through it. I am devastated, I’ve been devastated for weeks when Wolves and West Ham have been getting points.”
I would not like to read to much into Alexander-Arnold’s words but I think we can all accept he is off to Real Madrid this summer now.
Alexander-Arnold: “I think being so close to winning title and first back from injury, it was an important game for me. I’ve worked so hard to get back fit and I was happy to contribute with the goal.
“I am pretty sure that is my first goal with my left foot, I got their in the end. It is the one type of goal, I have been missing. We are one win away from winning the league. It was a very special moment.
“The fans have been outstanding again this season, they have pushed us to the end and they’ve done it again today. They are the ones that spend money and travel.
“I’ve said all season, I am not going to speak on my situation. I am not going to go into details. These are special moments that will live for me together.”
Alexis Mac Allister: “I am very happy of the team and Trent, he has worked hard to come back. It is a special moment for him an he deserves it.”
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Alexander-Arnold goes back over to the away end to applaud the travelling supporters. He looks a very happy man. Him and Elliott did just enough off the bench to up the tempo for Liverpool.
Full time! Leicester 0-1 Liverpool
The immediate news is that Leicester after relegated after this defeat. They never looked like winning, even though Liverpool were playing at half their usual pace. Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to thrash in a winner and party like it was his final goal for the club. It takes them within touch distance of the title.
90+6 mins: Monga’s not really had a touch since coming on but must be great to be playing against Salah et al at 15.
Buonanotte whacks a shot well over from 20 yards. The gig is up.
90+4 mins: Can Leicester score two goals in the final few minutes and then win their next five matches? Do you believe in miracles? Jones on for Diaz.
Andy Flintoff emails: “Leicester were complaining about the goal as Hermansen had taken out a Leicester defender during the scramble leading up to it, and the defender looked like he might have had a head injury, so the game should have been stopped before TAA hit it. He hadn’t, so the goal stood.”
Good spot.
90+2 mins: “Greetings from Chicago; thank you for your MBM efforts today,” effort is what I provide, Dave Berger. “I don’t mean to be too picky, but as a Red who hopes against hope that Trent Alexander-Arnold will stay at Liverpool, I both enjoyed Trent’s goal and emotional reaction... and couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t wearing a Liverpool shirt as he celebrated. Not exactly last week’s Van Dijk “Captain kisses Liver bird badge” goal celebration.
“Oh, well. At least it’s fun to see TAA back and firing again. This game felt drab before his and Elliott’s introductions.
“As disappointing as Trent’s likely departure is, he cemented his place for me as a Liverpool legend in 2019, when he took that unforgettable corner quickly against Barcelona.”
90 mins: Seven minutes added on. Not sure why …
88 mins: Hermansen comes to punch a cross, clearing out Faes in the process. The referee still gives Leicester a free-kick.
Sarah Wilson emails: “Er thanks....we know we’re going down but can you save dismantling the team in such a disdainful way for a wee bit longer yet?”
You’re going down as you’re not very good. I am not sure it is disdainful, just analytical.
86 mins: Monga can’t have the betting company on his shirt because he is so young. How sweet. I’d finished my first year of university when he was born. God I am old.
84 mins: Mavididi plays the ball into Buonanotte’s path but he drags his shot wide from near the penalty spot.
Van Nistelrooy makes more chances as Ndidi and Pereira are removed, Skipp and Justin are sent on. A further change is then required as Mavididi, Leicester’s best player today, is injured. Fifteen-year-old Monga replaces him.
82 mins: Salah takes aim but Coady is in the way.
It is at times like these where you wonder which Leicester players could be in the Premier League next season. Mavididi is decent and Ndidi could do a job for someone. After that …
80 mins: Salah chips a cross to the back post for Jota to attack but he heads it over from very close range.
78 mins: If anyone wants to question Alexander-Arnold’s commitment to Liverpool, then the celebration dispels that. Maybe he is just a young man who wants a new challenge …
GOAL! Tsimikas swings in the corner, it pinballs around inside the box, as Salah has a shot saved before Jota hits the bar. The ball comes out to Alexander-Arnold who thwacks a shot across goal through Hermansen. The defender sprints over to the corner, removing his top. Leicester complain but there is no infringement.
GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Liverpool (Alexander-Arnold, 76)
Alexander-Arnold is back!
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74 mins: Elliott controls the ball around 30 yards from goal, gets it out of his feet and fires off a shot which deflects over off Thomas. Stuart Attwell, being Stuart Attwell, fails to spot the fact it hit the Leicester defender.
72 mins: Mavididi forced Slot to take off Bradley. He will fancy his chances against the replacement, too.
71 mins: Alexander-Arnold and Elliott replace Szoboszlai and Bradley.
70 mins: Leicester are looking lively at the moment, knowing they are in a do-or-die situation. It should be said, they need to win their final six matches, including this one and make up a 20-odd goal difference on West Ham.
Ndidi is booked for fouling Mac Allister.
69 mins: More Liverpool subs are getting stripped. They need to up it here. It is quite a pedestrian performance in general. Alexander-Arnold and Elliott are ready.
67 mins: GOAL DISALLOWED! The resulting free-kick goes into the box and bounces around for a bit. In the end Leicester do get the ball in the net via Coady but only after Daka pushes Alisson out of the way. Leicester can complain but it is a foul.
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66 mins: Liverpool fans are passing the time by singing “Going down, going down, going down” to the home fans.
Salah dribbles the ball straight out of play, giving away a free-kick. Things get worse for Liverpool as the throw is taking quickly to Mavididi, who flicks the ball past Bradley, forcing the full-back to bring him down. The referee shows the full-back a yellow card.
64 mins: Daka has an early impact, forcing Konate to concede a corner, which ultimately comes to nothing. Liverpool break down the other end, where Szoboszlai whips in a cross for Jota to attack but he heads wide. That is Liverpool’s 20th attempt of the match!
62 mins: Double change for Leicester as Daka and Buonanotte replace Decordova-Reid and Vardy.
60 mins: Salah gets a chance inside the box he shoots off-balance and the ball drifts wide.
SUB! Jota on for Gakpo.
59 mins: Gakpo is the latest Liverpool player to reach the byline bit his cross is pretty aimless and Soumare sweeps up.
Changes are afoot for Leicester, who really need to win.
57 mins: Bit of a strange one as Diaz tries to flick the ball over the Leicester defence, everyone gets confused, allowing Tsimikas to pounce but Hermansen stays big to save.
55 mins: It is starting to feel like some point soon, Liverpool will click and score. The moment almost comes when Bradley clips to Diaz whose volley flies over the bar.
53 mins: El Khannous outmuscles Tsimikas and whips in a cross but it is a good height for Alisson it claim.
Down other end … Szoboszlai gets to the byline and picks out Gakpo but his shot is blocked.
51 mins: Another Liverpool corner is sent into the box and Hermansen comes to punch clear, much to his defence’s relief.
49 mins: Szoboszlai takes aim from 25 yards, hitting a shot that bounces just in front of Hermansen, who palms it straight out. Thankfully for the goalkeeper, Coady is there to clear up.
Sky kindly pointing out that Leicester have lost their past eight home games without scoring. Fair play to everyone who has stayed away.
47 mins: Tsimikas whips a cross for Salah at the back post but Thomas just about beats the Egyptian to it.
Second half
Here we go again!
Half-time reading …
Ipswich 0-4 Arsenal.
Fulham 1-2 Chelsea
Man United 0-1 Wolves
Half time: Leicester 0-0 Liverpool
The champions-elect have been the better team but Leicester have enjoyed a few half decent moments.
45 mins: One minute added on.
44 mins: Leicester have successfully slowed things down …
42 mins: Bradley charges forward and slips a pass through to Gakpo, who takes a touch and fires off a shot but it lacks power and is straight at the goalkeeper.
Tsimikas gets to the byline soon after, whipping a cross to the back post for Salah but he cannot control the volley. Is the opener coming?
40 mins: Hermansen is called into action once more by Gakpo, after a cross chipped to the back post causes the goalkeeper a few problems, forcing him to tip it behind.
Konate attacks the corner and the header is destined for the corner until Soumare intervenes, kicking the ball over.
38 mins: Diaz’s cross loops up, allowing Gakpo to attempt a diving header which Hermansen saves.
36 mins: Jeremy Boyce says: “Re the empty seats, I can totally understand. It’s a “glorious sunny Easter Sunday”, why would you want to waste £60 watching your now-doomed heroes getting a 0 - 6 bagel thrashing at the hands and feet of the Champions-elect, when you could have more fun checking out Richard III’s remains, then getting off for a decent curry, with possibly enough change to buy your kid a small chocolate artefact.
“As for the weather, I’m in the south of France (Nimes), it’s windy with skudding clouds and nice sun in between.. “
34 mins: Vardy, who has barely had a kick, passes the ball straight out of play and is very unhappy with himself. Such a tricky gig being the Leicester lone forward at the moment.
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32 mins: Mac Allister has another set-piece, curling a free-kick into the box from around 35 yards out. Once again, a Leicester head meets it first.
30 mins: Liverpool have a corner after a Salah volley is blocked. Mac Allister sends in an outswinger but the hosts get rid.
“I have my iPod (yes, it still works) running in the background today. It just shuffled to ‘Close to the Edge’,” emails Joe Pearson from 2014. '“Appropriate for Leicester, one supposes.”
28 mins: Ndidi catches Diaz on the ankle and gives away a free-kick 30 yards from goal. Szoboszlai and Mac Allister are over the ball. The Hungarian takes on the shot but it bounces into Hermansen’s arms.
26 mins: Feels a bit like are going through the motions. Slot, I suspect, will want his team to up the tempo a bit here.
24 mins: Bradley has a chance inside the Leicester box but it is blocked and the danger removed.
Van Nistelrooy swears after Faes plays a stunning pass to Mavididi, only to be deemed offside, which he is.
22 mins: Thomas finds Coady at the back post but Liverpool get it clear and almost break through Salah. The Egyptian, however, cannot keep control of the ball.
20 mins: El Khannous dribbles into space on the length, chased by Salah, who needlessly bring him down. Leicester have a free-kick in a dangerous position on the left wing …
18 mins: It all sounds quite subdued at the King Power. Leicester and Liverpool know their fate, removing much of the festive atmosphere.
16 mins: After that brief burst of Leicester attacks, Liverpool are starting to control this game. They are knocking it about without much in the way of pressure.
14 mins: Gakpo is actually playing on the left and Diaz down the middle. The Dutchman is looking quite lively but his latest cross is easily gobbled up by Hermansen.
12 mins: Maybe we will get a few seconds of calm …
Instead Salah crosses from the edge of the box but Coady reads it and heads the ball over his own goal. Konate volleys the resulting corner wide.
11 mins: It is end to end action, resulting in Salah having a shot blocked in the line by a mixture of goalkeeper and defender.
10 mins: Mavididi turns Bradley inside and out before pulling it back to Ndidi, who whacks his shot against the post.
9 mins: Van Dijk attacks a corner but his header is blocked by Faes. It looks like it should be another corner but the last touch is off the Dutchman, a good spot by the ref.
“Glorious Easter Sunday?” asks Richard Hirst. “You should be in SW France where it is cold and windy. And to make matters worse Fulham lost after being in front for 63 minutes compared to Chelsea’s three minutes. I think the basis on which points are awarded needs to be rethought!”
I am available to spend time in SW France.
8 mins: Pereira takes a throw, lifting his back leg off the ground. When I was a lad, that was not allowed.
Van Nistelrooy is on the edge of his technically area offering out instructions to his players and bantering with the fourth official.
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6 mins: The hosts have barely had a kick yet but they break down the other end. De Cordova-Reid puts in a cross and El Khannous almost gets on the end of it. Liverpool have got away with one here.
4 mins: There seem to be plenty of empty seats inside the ground. I appreciate Leicester are doing badly but you’d think the champions-elect would get bums on seats.
3 mins: CHANCE! Salah is slipped through by Diaz, he opens up his body and looks to find the bottom corner but hits the inside of the far post and then watches go along the line and ping off the other.
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2 mins: It is very sunny in Leicester, which is good news for Foxes fans.
On the downside, Hermansen’s first touch is an awful clearance. The Leicester keeper is thankfully that the pass straight back into the box finds Diaz offside.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The players are out …
Jeremy Boyce says: “I take Keiran’s [1615] point, but what makes him think he might not be seeing Vardy (a true giant, hero, loyal servant) playing his final days, in the Premier League right here, right now ? Would he be up for a 46 game slog through the Championship one more time ? Just sayin’...”
Kieran McKintosh emails: “Odd coincidence this year that a lot of sides who have previously won the league (City, Man U, Chelsea, Leicester) have had significant wobbles that dent their ambitions. Just saying. It’s a shame. I would have liked to see Jamie Vardy playing the final bit of his career in the top flight.”
Arne Slot: “Arsenal are doing what we expect them to do and hopefully we can do – that is what my focus is on. Leicester might be in a better place now than the last two weeks.
“I saw the first 10 minutes of the Arsenal match. I saw they were 1-0 up and they were playing really good.
“Sometimes when these teams are almost relegation, they play with a bit of freedom. Mostly when players feel freedom, they are dangerous.
“Trent could play for around 20 minutes, depending on the intensity in the game.”
The main man.
I’ve opened the window and all I can now smell is BBQs. What a sacrificing we all making on this glorious Easter Sunday.
Ian Copestake emails: “All this talk of one-sidedness makes it feel like Liverpool are playing Wimbledon again in a certain fina of yore.. It also shows that people follow narratives rather than watch games as playing bottom feeders is exactly the sort of opponent Liverpool struggle against. You’ve been warned.”
I’ve watched enough Leicester this season …
Arsenal have secured all three points, making this King Power matchup less meaningful for Liverpool. Wolves won at Manchester United, meaning anything other than a Leicester win today will send them down to the Championship.
In the other early kick-off, Chelsea won it in injury-time at Fulham to move up to fifth and a Champions League spot.
It is now 4-0 to Arsenal. Put the champagne on ice.
In almost irrelevant news, the actor Stephen Graham is at the King Power Stadium. I suspect the Leeds United side from the Damned United could turn over Leicester today.
Indulge in some Nick Ames before kick-off.
Arsenal are 3-0 up now. Do not get carried away here.
Want a match preview written by me? Probably not but here it is anyway.
Still no Harry Winks in the Leicester squad. Van Nistelrooy does not like chatting about it after reports Winks was originally omitted having fallen out with the Dutchman over a demand to stay at the training ground once a week rather than continue a lengthy commute.
Alexander-Arnold is back in the matchday squad for Liverpool after five weeks out as the days seemingly tick down on his Anfield career.
Starting lineups
Leicester (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Ricardo, Faes, Coady, Thomas; Ndidi, Soumare; El Khannous, De Cordova, Mavididi; Vardy
Subs: Stolarczyk, Justin, Kristiansen, Okoli, Skipp, Buonanotte, Ayew, Daka
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Gravenbech; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Gakpo
Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah
Preamble
If you are coming here for a Liverpool title confirmation, then Arsenal want a word with you. Instead we will see Leicester get relegated if Liverpool give them the shooing everyone expects.
Obviously, Arne Slot’s side will win the league in the next seven days but Arsenal want to delay the celebrations as long as possible. The Reds have been the best team in the league all season, offering effective and efficient football. Mohamed Salah is their star turn, settling many matches to prove his worth at Anfield, something he will continue to do for a couple more years at least.
We could do some deep analysis on Leicester but they truth is they are utterly dreadful and will most likely be down by the end of the day. Ruud van Nistelrooy completely failed to correct the slide and will have to wonder if it is worth staying on for next season in the Championship.
Let’s hope it is competitive, at least.
Kick-off: 4.30pm BST
