On December 30, 2022, Liverpool was given an early new years’ present from Leicester City player Wout Faes as he scored two quickfire own goals to help Liverpool win. Liverpool was down by a goal early in the match but Faes scored two own goals in seven minutes in the first half itself. Jurgen Klopp’s men went on to win the match and fans on Twitter gave their verdict for Faes’ howler.
Ending 2022 with a win 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7LXhoNH3MD
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 30, 2022
Leicester went to Anfield fresh from a 3-0 loss to Miguel Almiron’s Newcastle United on Boxing Day. Brendan Rodger’s men got off to a dream start. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall took advantage of a missed tackle by Jordan Henderson in the fourth minute and conjured up a smart finish to give Leicester the lead.
Liverpool initially struggled to respond to the early goal. However, they were on the receiving end of two extraordinary gifts. The first of those appeared in the 38th minute. A seemingly harmless cross from Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was contacted by Faes at the near post. His scuffed contact sent the ball spinning over his goalkeeper Danny Ward’s head and into the net.
2 – Wout Faes is the fourth player with two own goals in a single Premier League game, after Jamie Carragher (1999, Liverpool vs Man Utd), Michael Proctor (2003, Sunderland vs Charlton) and Jonathan Walters (2013, Stoke vs Chelsea). Accomplice. pic.twitter.com/KXuyFExLtP
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 30, 2022
On the 45th-minute mark, Darwin Nunez’s dink over Ward hit the post. The ball came back off the post and Faes was in the way. The Belgian failed to adjust his body quickly enough and managed to score a second own goal. From there, Liverpool held on to win the match 2-1. They are now sixth on the Premier League table just a point behind Manchester United who has a game in hand.
Fans react to Wout Faes’ own goals against Liverpool
Fans showed no mercy to Faes, who undoubtedly had one of the worst days of his life on the field. One fan gave the idea to the Football Association (FA) to investigate Faes over his performance saying, “I demand an FA Investigation on Wout Faes this second.”
I demand an FA Investigation on Wout Faes this second.
— 𝙇𝙞𝙖𝙢🇧🇪 (@OfficialVizeh) December 30, 2022
Here are some of the fan reactions to Faes’ two own goals.
Wout Faes im dying😭😭😭😭 bro scored two own goals
— raik🪬 (@jaulthejogger) December 31, 2022
Wout Faes did the exact opposite of Wout Weghorst, scored two goals but both were own goals
— Hrishabh (@hrishabhd113) December 31, 2022
2 own goals 😅😅
Na Leicester come Dey help Liverpool score dia goals
Leicester City go sack this Wout Faes today..
How can only u score yourself twice 😅😅😅😅😅— BHADMAN (@Bhadman07) December 30, 2022
Wout Faes has scored 2 Own Goals within 6 minutes…🤣🤣🤣
— george (@StokeyyG2) December 30, 2022
Brendan Rodgers to Wout Faes at HT pic.twitter.com/5cEgwTjaJM
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) December 30, 2022
Leicester manager Rodgers on the other hand was very defensive of his player. During the post-match interview, he explained, “He has come back a bit rusty, not playing at the World Cup with Belgium, and it’s going to take him time to get back to speed. But he’s also been fantastic for us this season. It was unfortunate for him tonight.”
Leicester is 13th on the table with 17 points under their belt. This was their 10th defeat in 17 games. The Foxes host Fulham next on Tuesday.