LIVERPOOL, England -- Brendan Rodgers had a clear objective upon his return to Anfield for the first time on the four-year anniversary of his sacking as Liverpool manager.
His Leicester City side were prepped to "test and challenge the quality" of the league leaders -- on a 16-match winning run in the division -- and when James Maddison cancelled out Sadio Mane's opener on 80 minutes, the Northern Irishman calmly raised a clenched fist and may have considered the mission accomplished.
Liverpool had ruined clear openings to put the game out of reach and they were running out of time.