Liverpool 3-1 Southampton: Match report and 3 talking points as Reds survive scare to go 16 points clear

Liverpool survived a major scare from rock-bottom Southampton as they earned a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Anfield.

Will Smallbone gave the visitors a shock lead on the stroke of half-time as he capitalised on confusion in the Reds’ backline to tap in at the Kop end. However, Darwin Nunez’s equaliser shortly after the restart changed the complexion of the game, and Mohamed Salah put the hosts ahead from the spot minutes later.

The Egyptian then netted another penalty kick late on to secure a victory that moves Arne Slot’s side 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

How the game unfolded

Liverpool went close to opening the scoring with five minutes on the clock when Curtis Jones rolled a shot wide of the post from just inside the box. But any early impetus seem to be lost during a lengthy break in play after a clash of heads between Southampton defenders Ryan Manning and Jan Bednarek that forced the latter off.

As such, chances proved few and far between for the lethargic hosts, whose best opportunities saw Nunez head over and then send a weak left-footer after a smart turn into the arms of Aaron Ramsdale.

Still, it felt like only a matter of time until Liverpool clicked into gear, which made the fact that Southampton opened the scoring just before the break all the more surprising.

It came courtesy of a mix-up at the back, with Virgil van Dijk far too complacent in attempting to shield the ball back to Alisson Becker, allowing Will Smallbone to nip in and finish through the goalkeeper’s legs.

Clearly, Arne Slot had seen enough, and made three substutions at the break in swapping Dominik Szoboszlai, Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones for Harvey Elliott, Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister. And those changes paid instant dividends, with an instantly improved Liverpool turning the game on its head in nine second-half minutes.

Their first goal saw Nunez sidefoot in from close range after Luis Diaz had dribbled past Kyle Walker-Peters to the byline and pulled back.

Just two minutes later, Liverpool were awarded a penalty, the goalscorer Smallbone bringing down Nunez in the box as Southampton desperately tried to clear. As he always does, Salah did the rest from the spot.

To their credit, the visitors did not give up, and underlined their threat when Cameron Archer forced a smart stop from Alisson with a shot from a tight angle after running in behind on the break.

But their hopes of a point were ended when Yukinari Sugawara inexplicably handled in the box five minutes from time, gifting Liverpool a penalty that Salah emphatically dispatched.

Far too often, you hear any decent performance by a struggling Premier League side against one of the division’s big hitters dismissed as complacency from the latter. But it is hard to put Liverpool’s woeful first-half efforts here down to anything but that, particularly as Southampton’s goal came from an inexplicable failure to simply clear the ball.

Fortunately for the Reds, they were able to shake that off at half-time, no doubt thanks to a rocket in the dressing room from the manager. There can be no repeat of this performance in the huge tests that await against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and Carabao Cup final opponents Newcastle, that’s for sure.

Just when Liverpool fans think they are out, Nunez somehow manages to drag them in again.

Unusually, the Uruguayan recently attracted public ire from his manager as a result of a perceived lack of effort during meetings with Aston Villa and Wolves. However, he has responded brilliantly, setting up an unlikely winner in Paris on Wednesday before finding the net himself and winning a penalty in this game.

In truth, no matter what he does between now and the summer, a parting of the ways seems inevitable, but if Nunez continues to contribute in big ways in the meantime, then everybody will be happy.

With just nine points on board, Southampton remain at risk of beating Derby County’s record (11 points) as the worst Premier League team of all-time. But that surely won’t be the case if they can replicate the performance seen at Anfield, which gave a genuine scare to the champions-elect.

The Saints looked up for the fight, threatening on the break, and continued working for each other right up to the final whistle. If they can keep that up, then you would imagine they will manage to claim another three points from their ten remaining fixtures.

Check out the player ratings from Liverpool 3-1 Southampton here.

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