Jamie Carragher claimed both the Liverpool and Leicester City players “should come off the pitch holding their heads in shame” following the Foxes’s 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, just four days after manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked.

Two goals from England striker Jamie Vardy plus a brilliant Danny Drinkwater volley from outside the box gave Leicester their first Premier League victory of 2017, with Vardy’s opening strike the first goal they have scored in the top flight this calendar year.

It was that run of poor form that led to Ranieri’s sacking last Thursday night, with Leicester subsequently falling into the relegation zone due to the weekend’s results, but with caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare at the helm, they powered their way to a 3-0 lead before Philippe Coutinho scored a second-half consolation for Liverpool.

Jürgen Klopp’s side were extremely poor in comparison, but former Liverpool defender Carragher stressed that both sides should be embarrassed, given how bad the Reds were and how good their opponents proved they can be.

“Leicester were brilliant but they won the game by hunger and energy,” Carragher said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

“That's not about tactics, it's about what's inside you. We just saw a team fully committed.

“I've been watching football for a long time and I don't think I've seen two teams who should come off the pitch holding their heads in shame.

“Liverpool for how bad they were and Leicester for how bad their performances have been prior to this.”

Ranieri paid with his job for Leicester’s dismal Premier League title defence this season, but the sacking drew widespread criticism and condemnation given that the club was never expected to challenge for last season’s title, and that the Italian had brought the club more success in one season than in their entire history.

Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Kasper Schmeichel 7/10 Made a series of good low saves. Could have done little to stop Liverpool's solitary goal. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Danny Simpson 7/10 Was unable to get forward as much as he would have liked but made an excellent first-half interception to prevent Coutinho from scoring. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Wes Morgan 7/10 Put in a performance that harked back to the Morgan of old. Did the simple stuff well and denied Firmino with a fine last-ditch tackle. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Robert Huth 6/10 Looked shaky when Mane isolated him in the penalty area early in the second-half. A threat going forward. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Christian Fuchs 6/10 Assisted Vardy's second goal with a sumptuous in-swinging cross. Had a couple of respectable shots from distance. AFP/Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Marc Albrighton 8/10 Very impressive. His pass for the opening goal was a thing of beauty. Impish display out wide. CameraSport via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Danny Drinkwater 7/10 Grabbed his fair share of the headlines with a thunderous right-foot drive past Mignolet. Was occasionally guilty of dawdling on the ball, though. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Wilfred Ndidi 9/10 A contender for man of the match. Made 11 successful tackles: more than even N'Golo Kante ever managed in his time at the club. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Riyad Mahrez 7/10 Showed flashes of talent dribbling forward but, running at Milner and Lucas, he should have made more of an impact. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Shinji Okazaki 7/10 Played instead of Ahmed Musa; a tactical decision Craig Shakespeare got spot on. A typically combative performance, constantly freeing up space for Vardy to run into. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Jamie Vardy 9/10 The quintessential Jamie Vardy performance. Showed confidence in front of goal and terrorised Lucas with his direct running. Superb: man of the match. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Simon Mignolet 6/10 Cannot be blamed for any of the goals. Made two good first-half saves. Ran decisively off his line to twice deny Vardy late on. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Nathaniel Clyne 5/10 Should have done better for the third goal, which came down the right-hand side. Inexplicably performed a rabona while Liverpool were 3-1 down, which didn't go down all too well. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Joel Matip 5/10 A poor performance, but had it all to do in a defence lacking confidence and featuring players deployed out of position. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Lucas 3/10 Dreadful. Frequently exposed by Vardy. Struggled for the forward's pace and struggled in the air. Out of position and short of quality. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings James Milner 4/10 Frequently caught out of position and struggled against the running of Mahrez and Vardy. Improved when shifted into midfield late on. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Emre Can 5/10 Liverpool badly missed Jordan Henderson. Can tried, but was often overran in midfield. Redeemed himself a little with a fine surge forward for Liverpool's consolation. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Georginio Wijnaldum 5/10 A poor performance from a player who has looked in form in recent weeks. Guilty of giving the ball away for Leicester's first goal. Offered nothing going forward. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Adam Lallana 5/10 Largely anonymous although did attempt to link up with Mane more in the second-half. That ultimately proved too little too late; hauled off by Klopp on the hour. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Philippe Coutinho 6/10 So far from his best. Took his goal very well but failed to capitalise on his half-chances in the first-half. Liverpool FC via Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Sadio Mane 5/10 Chopped down by Jamie Vardy just 20 seconds into the match. Restricted to a role on the fringes thereafter and ultimately disappointing. Getty Images Leicester 3 Liverpool 1: Player ratings Roberto Firmino 5/10 Barely involved. The stats tell their own story: 0 shots on goal, 0 through balls played and just three aerials won. Getty Images

The fact that Ranieri was one of the most likeable managers in the Premier League strengthened the belief that he should have been given more time, and reports emerged over the weekend that the decision to sack him was taken after the Leicester owners met with a group of senior players following last week’s 2-1 Champions League defeat by Sevilla to communicate that the squad had lost faith with Ranieri.

A more telling point came in the 24 hours after his dismissal, where not one Leicester player thanked Ranieri publicly or expressed sadness at his dismissal. Eventually, a number of player posted messages on social media, with both Kasper Schmeichel and Vardy denying having any part in the meeting with the owners or getting Ranieri sacked.

Vardy celebrates after scoring his first Premier League goal of 2017 (Getty)

“Tonight is a bad result for traditionalists who think you should stick with their manager and a shot in the arm who think the change was right,” former Manchester United defender and England coach Gary Neville added.

“My view is that Leicester were at it all night. I don't understand how you can switch a tap on and off.

“Craig Shakespeare is not a magician and do all that in two and three days.