Leicester City secured their first victory of 2017 following their 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on Monday evening.

The Foxes got off to a good start and threatened early on when Jamie Vardy’s mishit shot found Okazaki, who headed the ball at goal from eight yards out but Mignolet was on hand to parry his shot away to keep the scoreline goalless.

Four minutes later, the Reds had a chance of their own but Wes Morgan was on hand to deny Liverpool after Adam Lallana played a crafty one-two with Sadio Mane before squaring the ball across the face of goal for Roberto Firmino but Morgan slid in at the vital moment to deny the Brazilian.

Leicester came close to breaking the deadlock in the 21st minute when Vardy remained composed to bring down a long ball over the top and get beyond Matip in the area but his effort from close range was ultimately blocked by Mignolet.

However, the Foxes opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Vardy was played through on goal by Marc Albrighton before curling the ball past the Reds shot-stopper to make it 1-0.

The Foxes then doubled their lead in the 39th minute when Danny Drinkwater latched onto a loose ball just outside the box before unleashing a thunderous half-volley, which found its way into the far bottom corner, leaving Mignolet rooted to the spot.

In the first 45 minutes of the match, the defending champions went into the half-time interval with a 2-0 lead over Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Liverpool came out a more livelier side in the second half and produced the first effort at goal when the ball fell kindly for Philippe Coutinho in space before attempting a shot at goal but he was ultimately denied by Schmeichel’s from just over 20 yards out.

Leicester then grabbed their third on the hour mark when Vardy latched on to a cross from Christan Fuchs before headering the ball into the back of the net to score his second of the match.

However, the Reds pulled a goal back in the 68th minute when Coutinho was played through on goal by Emre Can before rolling the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-1.

In the 79th minute, Leicester City came close to adding a fourth when Riyad Mahrez worked hard to beat his mark and skip into the area before setting up Drinkwater, who blazed his effort lifts just over the bar from the edge of the box.

In the dying minutes of the match, Liverpool had a chance to make it 3-2 when the Foxes goalkeeper watched the ball roll just wide of the mark after spilling what looked a rather tame effort from Coutinho but Leicester did well to deal with the ensuing corner.

Leicester City held onto their 3-1 lead until the final whistle to secure all three points and their first victory of the new year at the King Power Stadium.

Image: Premier League website