Seven Points Clear For Saints: Southampton 3 Liverpool 1

A superb attacking display from Southampton saw them beat an in-form Liverpool side at St. Mary’s, moving them seven points clear of 18th placed Wigan. Liverpool knew that after Everton’s […]


A superb attacking display from Southampton saw them beat an in-form Liverpool side at St. Mary’s, moving them seven points clear of 18th placed Wigan.

Liverpool knew that after Everton’s surprise win over Manchester City in the early kick-off, they would have to collect all three points in order to stay level with their city neighbours. Southampton, on the other hand, knew that come the end of the match, relegation rivals Wigan would have a two game advantage over them, meaning that a win was needed to keep them out of the Latics’ reach.

Morgan Schneiderlin celebrates after giving Southampton the lead against Liverpool. Credit: @SouthamptonFC

After starting on the substitute’s bench against Norwich, Luke Shaw’s introduction back into the first 11 almost yielded a goal in the fifth minute. His cross from the left wing led to a scissor volley from Gaston Ramirez, forcing Liverpool ‘keeper Brad Jones into a good save.

The Saints didn’t have to wait long for another chance either, as Jay Rodriguez got onto the end of Ramirez’s floated cross at the back post to head across goal. Midfielder Morgan Scheiderlin was then on hand to flick the ball home from close range.

The home side continued to press with Rickie Lambert fluffing a one-on-one opportunity, while Rodriguez saw a prospective tap-in snatched away from him by José Enrique.

All of this Southampton domination came with little response from Liverpool, with Joe Allen playing particularly poorly. A second goal for the home side looked inevitable however, when Rickie Lambert lined up a free-kick from 30 yards out, not many would have expected to see it end up in the back of the net. Lambert appeared to try and curve it over the wall, yet instead the ball took a deflection off of Daniel Sturridge and found its way into the bottom-left corner of the net.

However, just as it looked as though Southampton would go into the break with a two goal lead, Philippe Coutinho bundled home Daniel Sturridge’s deflected shot to give Liverpool hope going into the interval.

The second-half started considerably slower than the first, not least because of the torrential rain which played havoc with Mauricio Pochettino’s short, play the ball along the ground passing tactics. Consequently, the first real chances of the second half came in the 55th and 58th minute, with Sturridge and then Suarez both failing to convert after promising balls from Gerrard and Lucas respectively.

Despite Liverpool’s fans urging their team on, The Reds failed to make anything of a further array of half chances, culminating in Coutinho and then Gerrard both slipping when attempting to strike the ball in the increasingly treacherous conditions.

The points were sealed three minutes later however as Jay Rodriguez picked the ball up 45 yards from goal and ran at the heart of the Liverpool defence, gliding past Martin Skrtel and putting away the rebound from his initial shot.

Writer’s Comment: This was a fantastic display from the Saints, thoroughly dominating Liverpool in the first half and then shutting the game out in difficult conditions in the second. Despite this however, Liverpool’s dire level of play cannot be ignored. The men who came into the starting line up after the Spurs game were particularly culpable, Skrtel for his contribution to Southampton’s third goal and Allen for his inability to retain possession. The latter’s admission to the starting line up in place of Lucas Leiva was particularly puzzling due to him carrying a shoulder injury – something which was clearly evident in his general play.

Man Of The Match: Morgan Scheiderlin – The all-action midfielder put in his second man of the match display in as many weeks. The Frenchman passed, tackled, pressed and generally dominated the midfield, capping off a deeply impressive display with a goal.