Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers believes Wout Faes has the character to overcome Friday's horror show at Anfield in which the Belgian defender scored two own goals as Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall got the Foxes off to the best possible start with a goal inside five minutes but that was undone by two lapses in concentration by defender Faes before half time.
The summer signing from Reims first missed a shout from goalkeeper Danny Ward on 38 minutes as he went to cut out a low cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, horribly slicing the ball as it looped over Ward and in off the back post.
And just seven minutes later it got worse for the Belgian as Darwin Nunez’s shot came back off the post and his attempt to clear the danger saw him fire into his own net again.
Commenting on the first own goal, Rodgers said: “There is no real trouble, the ball is coming into Danny’s hands but as a defender you make those decisions.
“But since he has been with us he has been absolutely brilliant. He normally makes the right decisions. It was just freakish and he has been unfortunate with the second one also.
“It is obviously disappointing for him, more with the first one, but he is a really strong character.
“He has been at the World Cup but didn’t play a minute so it might take him a few games to get his rhythm back. He has shown the level he can get to. Tonight was unfortunate for him but I thought he responded brilliantly in the second half.”
Ratings
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LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker 6 - Not troubled too much with Liverpool catching Leicester City offside on a number of occasions, but alert to the danger when called upon. Unlucky with the first goal after some poor Liverpool defending. AP Photo -
Andy Robertson 5 - Sloppy at times with his passing that almost gifted a significant chance to Leicester. Replaced after picking up an injury. PA -
Virgil van Dijk 7 - The Netherlands international won his duels when challenged by attacking players, and was quick to react to crosses coming into the box. EPA -
Joel Matip 6 - Transitioned the ball forward impressively and helped begin a number of Liverpool attacks. Didn’t overcommit when defending and looked assured. AFP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold 7 - Won his defensive battle against Harvey Barnes with Leicester looking to exploit his flank, but the right-back defended excellently. AFP -
Jordan Henderson 5 - The Liverpool captain wasn’t at his best as he gave away possession at times when there was no real pressure. An off-night for the midfielder. Getty Images -
Thiago 8 - A creative spark in midfield and helped maintain control in the second half. Didn’t look to make a wrong decision across the 90 minutes. Reuters -
Harvey Elliott 6 - Drove forward when in possession but he will need to be checked after going off with what looked to be an ankle injury. Substituted in the 86th minute for Stefan Bajcetic. EPA -
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 6 - Still getting up to speed but is finding himself in the right areas. His final ball could have been better at times, though he will need to garner sharpness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. PA -
Darwin Nunez 7 - Something always looked like it could happen when Nunez had the ball, but the Uruguay star missed his big chance after Naby Keita played him through. Caused trouble for Leicester’s defence throughout the game. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah 6 - Came in and out of the game but has to do better with his chances. Salah didn’t seem to have his shooting boots on today, only having the ball in the net with a chance that was called back for offside. AP Photo -
SUBS: Kostas Tsimikas (Robertson, 62) 6 - Added energy on the left-flank after coming in for the injured Andy Robertson. A strong run in the second half saw him find space in a promising area, though his effort was deflected out for a corner. Getty Images -
Naby Keita (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 62) 6 - Unlucky not to end the game with an assist after finding Darwin Nunez. A positive display from Keita who will still be gathering match sharpness. AFP -
Joe Gomez (Alexander-Arnold, 86) N/R - On as a more defensive right-back in place of Alexander-Arnold. AFP -
Stefan Bajcetic (Elliott, 86) N/R - Introduced for Harvey Elliott who had sustained his second knock of the game. Getty Images -
LEICESTER RATINGS: Danny Ward 6 - There wasn’t much Ward could have done as his own defender scored past him on two occasions. Produced a save against Mohamed Salah in the second half, pushing the ball past his right post. PA -
Timothy Castagne 5 - Presented too much space to Liverpool’s left-backs and was sometimes slow to close down the cross. Getty Images -
Daniel Amartey 6 - Battled well throughout the game in a physical match up against Darwin Nunez, who troubled Leicester City’s backline across the 90 minutes. Reuters -
Wout Faes 2 - Two avoidable own-goals. He didn’t hear his goalkeeper for the first one, and he had to do much better to clear the ball after Nunez’s strike hit the post. A forgettable night for Faes. PA -
Luke Thomas 6 - Rash in the challenge that presented Liverpool with some dangerous set-piece opportunities. Made some impressive interventions in the second half. Getty Images -
Boubakary Soumare 5 - Anticipated play well in the middle of the pitch and was aggressive in the challenge. Booked for a poor tackle on Thiago. Getty Images -
Harvey Barnes 5 - Found space down the left flank but didn’t have the answer for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had the better of the left-winger on the night. AFP -
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall 7 - Positive runs from midfield helped carve chances for Leicester City, and his finish was composed as he put his side into the lead inside the opening five minutes. Getty Images -
Wilfred Ndidi 6 - Progressed the ball from midfield safely without taking risks. Good positioning in central areas made it difficult for Liverpool to play through the middle of Leicester City’s structure. PA -
Ayoze Perez 5 - Too wasteful in possession on the night, giving the ball away frequently. Eventually replaced by Iheanacho. Getty Images -
Patson Daka 5 - Injured early on and replaced by Jamie Vardy. PA -
SUBS: Jamie Vardy (Daka, 15) 6 - Ran the channels well and almost picked up an assist with a cross towards the back post, only for Alexander-Arnold to intervene. PA -
Youri Tielemans (Ndidi, 59) 6 - Couldn’t seem to get into the rhythm of the game after being introduced. Reuters -
Kelechi Iheanacho (Perez, 71) - An instinctive run found space behind Liverpool’s line but his teammates weren’t on his wavelength after he tried to cut the ball back across the goal. AP Photo
Considering Liverpool scored none of the three goals, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was happy to take the points, though he had sympathy for Faes.
“Yeah, I had that once in my career where a player scored two own goals and I really feel for him,” Klopp said.
“The first one was absolutely unlucky. How can it be more unlucky? Then the second one, if you play football, you go full speed, you expect the ball to go in, that’s what your brain tells you, and when it hits the post, you cannot react.
“Of course I feel sympathy, there is space for that but whatever I say now will not change that. But the boy will get through this, Brendan will help him and everything will be fine.”
Victory kept Liverpool sixth in the Premier League on 28 points from 16 games while defeat sees Leicester remain in 13th place with 17 points from as many matches.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Jordan Henderson placed flowers on the centre circle at Anfield before the match in honour of Brazil great Pele, who passed away Thursday aged 82.
Players in England and Scotland wore black armbands and held a minute's applause before kick off to honour the three-time World Cup winner with similar tributes to follow across the weekend's games.
"I believe everyone from the world of football is feeling something about his loss," Alisson told BBC Sport. "We Brazilians are grieving. He is a huge loss but at this moment we have to look to the things that he did because he changed the world of football, not just for Brazilians but for everybody."
"There is a lot of talk about who was the best and who is the best, but for us he is the best of all time. What he did on the pitch reflected the nation, he put the Brazilian flag at the highest standard, not just him but his teammates as well."
