Polish Premier League fans could have expected to see several Poles in action on Boxing Day, but Jakub Stolarczyk was certainly not on the “expected” list. Our goalkeeper has been defending Leicester's colors since 2017, but so far he has only made nine appearances, mainly in domestic cups and last season in the Championship. After promotion to the Premier League, he first treated an injury and then became the third goalkeeper.
Anfield debut? You can imagine a lesser challenge
However, the injury of Leicester's number one Mads Hermansen and Danny Ward's hopeless performance against Wolverhampton (0:3) made Ruud van Nistelrooy decide to give the Pole a chance to debut in the Premier League. And where! At Anfield itself, against Liverpool, who are top of the league, and in the previous one match scored six goals Tottenham (6:3). Meanwhile, Leicester has picked up just one point in their last three league games and is overall in the relegation zone.
Also definitely a clash between David and Goliath and a huge challenge against Stolarczyk. However, the Pole started great, because in the fourth minute he stopped Mohamed Salah's shot from close range, and what's more, two minutes later Leicester took the lead! The goal was scored by Andre Ayew, who pushed Andrew Robertson in the penalty area and beat Alisson with a precise shot.
David pissed off Goliath. So Goliath ran him over despite the Pole's efforts
Liverpool furiously started to make up for the losses, but for a long time the Pole was also lucky in addition to his skills. In the first half, the opponents scored twice instead of hitting the goal. First, Robertson headed the post and then Salah hit the crossbar. However, this siege paid off just before the break. Cody Gakpo from the age of sixteen hit so much that Stolarczyk could have been 3 meters tall and still would have had no chance.
After the break, the Pole had to capitulate for the second time. Again, it was not my fault, because in the 49th minute, Alexis Mac Allister's pass reached Curtis Jones, who put the ball into the net from a few meters. VAR took a long time to analyze whether there was any offside. But it wasn't. Leicester couldn't break free from the pressure Liverpool and if it weren't for Stolarczyk in the 63rd minute, it would have been 3-1. The Pole then defended a close-range shot by Darwin Nunez. It could also have been five minutes later when Gakpo scored, but this time a small offside saved the Foxes.
The carpenter was not enough. Liverpool showed class
However, in the end the final blow came and neither Stolarczyk nor VAR could do anything. Minute 82, individual action by Mohamed Salah and a perfect shot from inside the penalty area. The score was 3-1, which practically turned Leicester's lights off. Jakub Stolarczyk did everything he could to save Christmas for Leicester. He had some problems with his feet, but he made up for it with good interventions. However, Liverpool were simply too strong.
The Reds won 3-1 and took advantage of the defeat Chelsea from Fulham 1:2. Thanks to this, they are seven points ahead of the second place in the table (and a game less). Leicester, on the other hand, is stuck even deeper in the relegation zone. But at least their fans learned that they didn't have to watch Danny Ward at all in Hermansen's absence. Because there is an option in reserve that performed really well today.