Leicester put a couple of difficult days behind them to cruise past a woeful Liverpool side on Monday night.

A Jamie Vardy brace and a stunning 25-yard half-volley from Danny Drinkwater helped secure the Foxes a convincing victory against Jurgen Klopp's men as the English champions came to terms with life after Claudio Ranieri.

Philippe Coutino's second-half strike offered faint hope for the visitors but it wasn't to be, with Leicester taking a confident step out of the bottom three.

Here's five things we learned:

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

Foxes continue to baffle

It was the sort of performance that recalled to mind the Leicester of last season: simplified, direct and aggressive. With a revitalised Jamie Vardy leading the way, the Foxes overwhelmed a lacklustre Liverpool side from the very off. But how can this be the case? How can a group of 11 players go from relegation strugglers to giant-slayers in the space of four days. Has Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal really unlocked the side’s true potential and returned them to the Leicester of old, or is something more sinister afoot? With reports of backroom unrest doing the rounds prior to Ranieri’s sacking, tonight’s performance certainly attests to the suggestion that Leicester’s players had lost heart in the old Italian. Either way, there remains plenty of unanswered questions - but at least this is the first step in the right direction.

Leicester celebrate their second goal (Getty)

Vardy back on track

Jamie Vardy is back with a bang – as showcased by his opening goal. Breaking cover to meet a bisecting through ball, the forward pounced with lightning speed before calming beating Simon Mignolet at his near post to hand Leicester the lead. It was his second goal in as many matches and on the back of these last two performances, Vardy is one player you can’t accuse of not trying. Lack of service has deprived him of goal-scoring opportunities this season but the forward was in his element tonight, chasing balls, challenging hard and harassing the visitors’ shaky defence. Industrious, switched-on and scarily aggressive, Vardy looks back on track.

Albrighton gets away from Nathaniel Clyne (Getty)

Liverpool’s mental block continues to hinder them

"Liverpool have been off for two weeks, what were they doing in La Manga?" asked Gary Neville at half time. Drinking and general gallivanting, it would seem. While they remain the only top-six side unbeaten against their rivals so far this season, their failure to get results off the league’s lesser sides has left them red-cheeked and frustratingly short of points. Such inconsistency has severely dented their title campaign and once again they showcased their inability to deliver against those teams outside of the top six. Sadio Mane was absent, Lucas looked out of his depth and Firmino failed to offer any dynamism in the final third. If Liverpool are to secure a spot in Europe, they must overcome this crippling, and perplexing, mental block.

Simon Mignolet is beaten at his far post (Getty)

Henderson’s absence hits hard

It was a night to forget for those Liverpool players tasked with defensive duties at the King Power Stadium. Lucas Leiva in particular struggled to deal with Vardy’s electric pace and found himself turned on more than one occasion throughout the evening. Joel Matip and James Milner were similarly anonymous, offering little leadership and guidance at the back. Jordan Henderson would have undoubtedly brought a degree of purpose to Liverpool’s game tonight but his replacement, Emre Can, was simply unable to do so.

Emre Can struggled to step in for Henderson (Getty)

Ndidi channels his inner Kante