Wout Faes becomes fourth Premier League player to score two own goals as Liverpool see off Leicester
Liverpool have extended their Premier League winning run to four games after coming through a stern test from Leicester City 2-1 — with both of their goals coming through Wout Faes.
It was the dream start for the travelling Foxes, who broke the deadlock through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall less than five minutes into the contest. The 24-year-old drove through the Liverpool midfield like a hot knife through butter before slotting past Alisson to make it 1-0.
Liverpool pressed and probed, with Darwin Nunez again at the heart of the action but unable to find the net. The equaliser eventually came through an unlikely source in Faes, whose own goal was an unfortunate moment of miscommunication and ill-luck, after he inadvertently looped Trent Alexander-Arnold’s whipped cross over an indignant Danny Ward.
The Leicester keeper’s cry for the ball was audible but Faes took matters into his own hands and ultimately scuffed his clearance to level things up at Anfield. It was a heart-rending moment for the summer recruit, who had looked solid and resolute up until that point… but things would only get worse for the curly-haired defender.
Just seven minutes later he would once again be left with egg on his face as he rattled the ball into his own net following a Nunez run and strike. The Uruguayan went careering through on goal before dinking the ball onto the woodwork, with the rebounded effort causing Faes to wallop home for his second of the night.
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The irony certainly wasn’t lost on a misfiring Nunez, who offered a wry smile and raced to the corner flag to celebrate the ill-fortune of Faes. The Uruguayan once again missed plenty of gilt-edged opportunities, but his overall play was superb, as he offered blistering pace, vision and directness to carve open Leicester.
Faes’ double clanger means he has now entered an unwanted, but exclusive club of only four players to net an own goal brace, with Jamie Carragher (1999, Liverpool vs Man Utd), Michael Proctor (2003, Sunderland vs Charlton) and Jonathan Walters (2013, Stoke vs Chelsea) the other ill-omened perpetrators.
2 – Wout Faes is the fourth player with two own goals in a single Premier League game, after Jamie Carragher (1999, Liverpool vs Man Utd), Michael Proctor (2003, Sunderland vs Charlton) and Jonathan Walters (2013, Stoke vs Chelsea). Accomplice. pic.twitter.com/KXuyFExLtP
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 30, 2022
Jurgen Klopp’s men had plenty of opportunities after the restart to increase their lead, while Leicester also had their moments of final-third success. But, the three points were duly collected by the hosts on a night where their typically-potent attack was defanged, but they still walked away with maximum reward.
That result means Liverpool have now won four games on the trot and are now only two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the race for the Champions League places. Leicester meanwhile remain in 13th and only four points outside of the relegation zone.
