Southampton 1-2 Liverpool
Goals from Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino gave Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool a second league win after beating Southampton, 1-2.
It should have been rather more comfortable for the Reds, but a late Danny Ings goal gave the title hopefuls a few jitters before the Saints eventually fell to a second successive defeat.
The red half of Merseyside covets the Premier League more than any other tournament. Our SBOBET tips (well, mine anyway) predicted another disappointment for them after the way Manchester City dismantled West Ham last week, but if Klopp is to triumph, then hard-fought wins like this will be gold dust.
Highlights of the game
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl strengthened his attack in the summer transfer window with the recruitment of Che Adams from Birmingham City. He came close to scoring on his debut against Burnley last week and had a good chance to open his account on 18 minutes today, but his effort went.
The hosts were having the better of the game and Liverpool keeper Adrian made a world-class save to keep the scores level on 21 minutes. James Ward-Prowse delivered a peach of a ball into the penalty area, and Maya Yoshida beat Virgil Van Dijk to the header only to see Adrian make a brilliant reaction save.
Take a look at the Premier League 2019 highlights for that brilliant piece of goalkeeping action. Yoshida thought he’d scored until Adrian stuck out a hand.
It took half an hour for Mo Salah to have a shot in anger when he fired narrowly wide under pressure from Yoshida, but it was his strike partner who broke the deadlock in first-half injury time.
Sadio Mane picked up a ball from James Milner, turned and curled a beauty into the corner. It was harsh on the Saints, who had given it a real go in the first 45.
Salah had a good chance early in the second half with a free-kick just outside the penalty area, but his effort cannoned off the top of the defensive wall.
Liverpool began to get into their stride and when Salah combined well with Trent Alexander-Arnold, the ball fell to Milner who fired a shot narrowly wide.
Roberto Firmino had a golden opportunity to double Liverpool’s lead on 65 minutes when Mane broke and left Jan Bednarek in his wake before curling in a beautiful ball, but the unmarked Brazil striker could only skim the wrong side of the post with the goal gaping.
Hasenhuttl rolled the dice by bringing Danny Ings off the bench, and the former Liverpool man came agonisingly close to levelling with an effort from 25 yards.
But the Saints’ boss’ gamble looked to have failed when Liverpool went 2-0 up when Firmino made up for his earlier miss. It was poor Southampton defending which let him in, losing possession from their own throw-in and giving him all the space he needed to fire past Angus Gunn and into the net.
Gunn kept the score down on 75 minutes, keeping out a powerful Mane header. Andy Robertson was the next to test the Saints’ keeper with a stinging drive which he diverted for a corner.
It looked like we were heading for a nice, easy finish for the Reds, but then Hasenhuttl’s sub stirred things up again — with a huge hand from the Liverpool keeper.
As Ings chased down Adrian, a simple up field clearance looked on the cards. but the Reds’ stopper just smacked it against Ings and it bounced into the net! With seven minutes left on the clock, it was game on again.
The home crowd was on its feet minutes later when Yan Valery crossed to Ings, but this time the striker side-footed when the fans fully expected the net to bulge.
Liverpool held out without any further scare.
Did any Southampton vs Liverpool betting tips back anything other than a win for Klopp’s boys? At 1.39, they were hot favourites but in the end, they had to work hard.
Key Statistics
The Reds had 62 per cent possession in a hard-fought first 45 minutes but only had one shot on target. Saints also had just one shot on goal, which brought out that world-class save from Adrian.
By the final whistle, the Reds had tested Gunn six times while Southampton also managed three on target.
Liverpool were unbeaten in their last 57 games when scoring first, so Southampton’s second-half task was huge, though they did give the Reds a minor scare.
Since the start of last season, Ings has registered eight goals for the Saints, more than any other player.
What’s next?
So Arsenal briefly went top of the table after a narrow win over Burnley, and now Liverpool take over on goal difference.
Next up for the Reds, a home game against Unai Emery’s Arsenal awaits, and that should be their stiffest test so far.
The Saints lost their opener at Turf Moor and are yet to register a point. After a trip down the coast to Brighton next week, it doesn’t get much easier at home as they entertain Manchester United.
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