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Liverpool continued their quest for their maiden Premier League title under Jurgen Klopp, after a remarkable 3-1 win over Southampton. The win takes Liverpool to the top of the table, with City face Brighton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup this weekend.
Southampton took the lead in the nineth minute after Shane Long slotted past Alisson, following Matip's failure to win the aerial duel against Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Their counter press was on point, which resulted in Liverpool conceding possession in poor fashion.
Klopp’s side equalized nine minutes from the interval as Naby Keita headed the ball past Angus Gunn, scoring his first goal for Liverpool.
The Second half started in same fashion as the first where Liverpool committed far too many errors in possession, only to be saved by some lacklustre decision making by Southampton in the final third. Liverpool took the lead in the 80th minute as Mohamed Salah’s neat finish rounded off a fantastic counter-attacking move from a Southampton corner.
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Jordan Henderson’s goal, four minutes from time, settled the score as Liverpool recovered from a pale start to secure a well-earned victory. Without wasting any time, let us take a look at the five talking points from Friday night’s clash at St.Mary’s.
#5 Southampton’s plan works to full effect until a late charge from the visitors
Southampton would feel hard done as the scoreline did not reflect the true story of the game. The hosts started with a back three of Bednarek, Yoshida and Vestergaard, who were shielded by the midfield duo of Hojbjerg and Romeu.
Ralph Hasenhuttl got his tactics spot on as the ‘Alpine Klopp’ gave Jurgen Klopp a taste of his own medicine. Liverpool were shaken by Southampton’s pressing and committed a flurry of silly errors in vital areas of the pitch. The Saints well-deserved lead in the ninth minute after some shoddy defending from the visitors left Shane Long with acres of space to trap the ball and score.
Along with the midfield duo of Romeu and Hojbjerg, wing-backs Jan Valery and Ryan Bertrand crowded the central areas of the pitch, which did not allow Fabinho and Keita to play their natural game. Southampton’s compact shape forced Liverpool to attack through the wings, where both Alexander-Arnold and Robertson found little joy due to some disciplined defending from the wing-backs.
Whenever Southampton were not in possession, the wing backs were aided by the midfielders, who doubled up on Mane and Salah, which did not allow Liverpool’s wingers to link up with the full backs. A silly mistake resulted in the hosts conceding the equalizer in the 36th minute as they momentarily switched off and allowed Alexander-Arnold to deliver an inch perfect ball for Keita to nod in.
Despite going 1-1 into the break, Southampton were clearly the better side in the first half. The second half started in similar fashion as the hosts looked the more threatening of the two sides. A poorly executed corner in the 80th minute saw Southampton surrender possession and allow Liverpool to break, which resulted in Salah giving The Reds the lead.
As a result of conceding the second goal, Southampton threw more men forward in search of the equalizer. After six minutes, Joel Matip’s defence splitting long pass found Roberto Firmino who in turn assisted Jordan Henderson for the winning goal.
The third goal was a result of the lack of players tracking back. Of which, Henderson was given a free run to tuck in from close range. None of the players got back in time to thwart Henderson’s dash, whose goal sealed the game for the visitors.
#4 The drought finally comes to an end
As Liverpool secured their 25th win of the season, one man would have been mightily relieved after breaking his goal scoring duck. He is none other than Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian had face a lot of criticism after drawing blanks for nine consecutive games and making wrong decisions in the final third of the pitch.
Salah was well marshalled from the word go by Romeu and Bertrand, as the duo doubled up against the Egyptian for the majority of the game. The Egyptian found less space to operate on and couldn’t link up as well as he would have expected with Alexander-Arnold. It also seemed as though Salah was trying too hard to make something happen. There were quite a few instances where Salah overhit a pass or two and lost possession cheaply.
An instance of some poor decision making from Salah came towards the end of the first half when he had the chance to put Mane through on goal. Salah held on to the ball instead of passing it to Mane who could have found himself one-on-one against the keeper.
Salah’s moment came ten minutes from time as he raced through on goal and placed his shot beyond the reach of Angus Gunn. The goal was a massive sigh of relief for the Egyptian who couldn’t find the back of the net for quite some time. The Egyptian’s strike against Southampton was his 50th goal for the club and 18th goal of the 2018/19 Premier League season.
As great players do, Salah popped up at the right time and scored the goal that offered Liverpool some breathing space in a closely fought contest.
#3 Southampton continue upward trajectory under Hasenhuttl
Prior to Friday night’s game against Liverpool, Southampton were on a positive run of form and placed eight on the form table. The former Leipzig manager has overseen an upturn in fortunes for the Saints as they continue their quest for survival in the Premier League. Southampton secured wins against Brighton and Tottenham prior to the clash against Liverpool.
Hasenhuttl went into the game with three at the back as Southampton set up in a 3-4-1-2 formation. The Austrian got his tactics spot on in the first half as his side did not allow Liverpool to play their natural game. Liverpool found themselves on the wrong end of the counter press as Hasenhuttl’s side made life difficult for the Reds. Southampton regrouped quickly whenever they lost possession and forced the likes of Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Keita to concede possession in some important areas of the pitch.
The back three of Yoshida, Bednarek and Vestergaard performed their tasks well and marshalled Salah, Mane and Firmino to great effect. Southampton looked dangerous during the first half and again, from the restart as they tried to take points off Liverpool.
One of the few flaws in Southampton’s game was to leave Long isolated against the duo of Matip and van Dijk. A little more support up the pitch could have worked wonders for the home side as they kept Liverpool’s defence on their toes for the majority of the game.
The 3-1 scoreline was not reflective of Southampton’s performance on the night as they made Liverpool toil for the three points. Despite the loss, Southampton find themselves five points from the relegation zone, with their remaining fixtures against sides outside the top six.
With a few tactical tweaks, Southampton look well positioned to survive in the Premier League as they continue to progress under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
#2 Henderson and Milner make the difference after coming on
Jurgen Klopp made two changes to the side that faced Tottenham on Sunday, with Fabinho and Naby Keita replacing Jordan Henderson and James Milner. Liverpool started the game in a 4-3-3 formation as Fabinho took up his usual role as the holding midfielder.
The midfield triumvirate of Fabinho, Wijnaldum and Keita started the game in poor fashion as they surrendered possession easily and lacked composure against the counter press. Fabinho was very sloppy and took too much time to think about his next pass and Wijnaldum could not operate in between the lines, partly owing to Southampton’s rigid shape.
Fabinho was unconvincing in his tackles and only completed four out of ten duels. On the other hand, Wijnaldum lost three out of his four duels and struggled to control the tempo in midfield. Klopp was quick with his substitutions and called on experienced campaigners, Jordan Henderson and James Milner, to replace Wijnaldum and Alexander-Arnold.
Milner operated at right back in place of Alexander-Arnold, who looked defensively suspect coming up against Redmond and Valery. Henderson was brought on to add more steel in the middle of the park.
The duo brought composure to a Liverpool side that was all over the place in the second half. Henderson kept things tidy with his simple passing, whereas Milner added defensive stability on the right flank. The former Manchester City midfielder put in some teasing crosses in the box which were dealt with by Southampton’s defence.
Henderson sealed the game in the 86th minute by scoring Liverpool’s third goal and also assisted Salah for Liverpool’s second goal. He completed the game with a pass accuracy of 76%, created two chances and made two recoveries. On the other hand, Milner ended the game with a pass accuracy of 82% and more importantly solidifying the right-hand side of Liverpool’s defence.
Klopp got his substitutions spot on as Henderson and Milner showcased their importance in Liverpool’s 3-1 win against Southampton.
#1 Liverpool’s ability to bounce back keeping them alive in the title race
Liverpool have improved leaps and bounds under the astute guidance of Jurgen Klopp. The current side is battling it out against a supremely talented and well-equipped outfit in Manchester City. As the Reds chase for the title, a key characteristic which has kept them alive in the title race is their ability to bounce back when the stakes are down.
In their previous fixtures, against Fulham and Tottenham, Liverpool have showcased the resilience and nerve associated with a side contending for the league. Friday night’s display against Southampton underlined Liverpool’s fighting spirit under Klopp.
The Reds fell behind in the ninth minute as Shane Long took advantage of some poor defending. They hit back in the 36th minute through Naby Keita and ended the first half on level terms, despite being poor for majority of the half. Since the restart, Southampton grew more dangerous and looked like breaking the deadlock.
Liverpool remained cool and kept probing till they took the lead in the 80th minute through Mohamed Salah. From then, it was plain sailing for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they secured victory against a resurgent Southampton outfit.
In previous seasons, Liverpool would have dropped points in these situations but the Reds have mastered the art of controlling and overcoming games such as these. It is the ability to get up and strike back that is keeping Liverpool alive in the league this season and credit must go to Jurgen Klopp for instilling this attitude.
