A vital victory for Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have returned to the top of the Premier League table with a dramatic win over Southampton. Liverpool won a frantic game at St Mary’s 3-1.
Shane Long gave the home side the lead with a well-deserved goal after nine minutes. Southampton swarmed all over the visitors, refusing to give them a moment’s rest on the ball and Liverpool were unable to get a grip on proceedings.
Naby Keita’s goal before half-time came against the run of play and it wasn’t until the final half an hour that Liverpool managed to repel the home side. He often receives criticism, and sometimes it is justified, but the introduction of Jordan Henderson, and the aggression he brought to the game, helped Liverpool.
Southampton’s positivity, which made it a keenly-fought contest, counted against them for Mohamed Salah’s goal. Liverpool defended a corner kick, the ball broke to Henderson who played an accurate headed pass to Salah.
The Egyptian ran over sixty-yards with the ball and as everyone affiliated with Liverpool was screaming for him to pass it to Roberto Firmino, he smashed the ball into the Southampton net. It was his first goal since February.
Liverpool then wrapped the points up late on with a well-worked move. Virgil van Dijk played a wonderful ball downfield to Firmino, who beat his marker and fizzed a delicious pass across the penalty area for Henderson to finish.
The game turned with the introduction of the Liverpool captain, which is something Henderson deserves credit for, but it also highlights the flaws within the team’s midfield. Klopp just can’t seem to get the balance right, but it may not matter in the long run.
Long also highlighted the flaw in Liverpool’s team when he opened the scoring with his 50th Premier League goal. The Irish striker is by no means a prolific goalscorer. Before Friday’s game, he had scored just eight goals in his last 99 club games.
However, Long almost isn’t even in the team to score, or at least he’s not expected to. He was tasked with keeping Van Dijk and Joel Matip occupied by running beyond the Liverpool central defenders.
The Southampton forward did this over and over, which stretched the opposition and opened up gaps between Liverpool’s defence and midfield. Fabinho, expected to bring balance and craft to Klopp’s team, struggled with the intensity of Southampton’s midfield, who swarmed forward following Long’s lead.
His direct running highlighted the flaws within Liverpool’s midfield. Klopp left out Henderson and James Milner from the win over Tottenham for Naby Keita and Fabinho. Keita scored and drove forward from midfield, but Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum were not at their best.
Liverpool’s midfield was disjointed and disorientated for most of the game. When Henderson came on and Long went off, Klopp’s side took control of the game as the home side ran out of gas.
The flaws within Liverpool’s midfield remain, but fans won’t care. There are five games to go and nothing matters now but getting over the line, just as they did against Southampton.
The introduction of Henderson symbolised what Liverpool will need to do to get over the line and beat Manchester City to the Premier League title. The Liverpool captain’s aggression and determination helped them get the win on Friday night.
