Ruud van Nistelrooy saw Leicester City's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool as a missed opportunity for the Premier League strugglers, despite the Reds' status as title favourites.
Leicester dropped into the Premier League relegation zone earlier on Boxing Day as Wolves made it two wins from two games under Vitor Pereira by beating Manchester United.
The Foxes then threatened a major upset at Anfield when Jordan Ayew scored an opener in the sixth minute, only for goals from Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah to give the hosts three points.
Leicester now have the worst defensive record in the league, with ten goals in three consecutive defeats against Newcastle United (0-4), Wolves (0-3) and Liverpool (1-3).
Van Nistelrooy's team attempted four shots in the opening ten minutes but failed to make a single attempt for the rest of the match, and despite their status as huge underdogs were frustrated at their failure to hold on.
“It is up to us to continue to develop and create game plans for each opponent,” Van Nistelrooy told Amazon Prime Video.
“The game plan was there, players knew what they had to do and followed it, but today was the maximum possible.
“Anfield is not the place where we normally collect the points, but for our development we have to do it because the points have to be collected.”
Leicester are now one point behind 17th-placed Wolves ahead of clashes with Manchester City and Aston Villa, and Van Nistelrooy says they need to strengthen in the January transfer window.
“It's a great opportunity to look at. It's a tool to look at as a club,” said the former Manchester United striker. “It's a good option.”
Liverpool are now seven points clear of their nearest rivals Chelsea at the summit, although Arsenal could cut their lead to six points when they play Ipswich Town on Friday.
Van Nistelrooy believes the Reds – who are now given a huge 88.2% chance of title success by the Opta supercomputer – have a great chance of being crowned champions this season.
“You never know in the Premier League and a lot has happened, but if you look at this team, how stable they are and the depth of their squad, they have a big chance,” said Van Nistelrooy.
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