London: Leicester City grabbed second half goals through Shinji Okazaki and record signing Islam Slimani to earn a 2-0 victory and send Liverpool packing in the League Cup third round here Tuesday night.
A night of wholesale team changes for the 11 Premier League sides in action produced one notable upset with top flight Stoke City losing 0-2 at second tier Bristol City.
Former England manager Roy Hodgson enjoyed his first victory in charge of Crystal Palace as the Premier League’s bottom club defeated Huddersfield Town 1-0 at Selhurst Park.
Tottenham Hotspur were frustrated for 65 minutes at Wembley by second-tier Barnsley before Dele Alli secured a 1-0 win and a first domestic victory of the season at their temporary home.
Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given his first start by manager Juergen Klopp following his move from Arsenal, while Phillipe Coutinho was also in the lineup at the King Power Stadium where the visitors dominated play before the interval.
Coutinho was instrumental in eight-times League cup winners Liverpool’s superiority but he went off at half time with the score still level and after the break Liverpool paid dearly for failing to take their chances.
Klopp’s side did not deal with a corner in the 65th minute and Okazaki’s deflected shot crept inside the post. Algerian Slimani scored the home side’s second goal with a stunning left-foot shot into the top corner in the 78th.
“We led a charmed life in the first half and Liverpool could have been out of sight,” Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare said after the game. “To get the first goal was massively important.”
