Salah double sees off Southampton and stretches Liverpool’s result in eight factors

For a second, Mohamed Salah’s shirt was gone with the wind, resting someplace on the sting of the Southampton field. He had whipped it off, bearing his lean, cartoonish torso in filthy situations as he celebrated his second objective, from the penalty spot, to open up an eight-point lead on the summit of the Premier League, in entrance of the visiting Liverpool supporters going berserk in a pocket of this stadium. Then Luis Díaz retrieved Salah’s No 11.

On the face of it, at kick-off this was a mismatch between the groups prime and backside of the division however Liverpool, who opened the scoring by way of Dominik Szoboszlai, trailed to targets by Adam Armstrong and the spectacular Mateus Fernandes. However Salah restored parity, struck the winner after which hit a publish late on to depart Arne Slot’s facet admiring the view. Slot’s businesslike thumbs as much as the away finish on the closing whistle was the crowning second, although they must enhance when Actual Madrid come to city on Wednesday.

There have been loads of positives for Russell Martin however in the end this was one other dispiriting defeat, an encouraging efficiency undone by particular person errors. The Southampton supervisor has been wrestling to discover a profitable system to avert an instantaneous return to the Championship and made 5 adjustments, handing the 6ft 7in striker Paul Onuachu his first league begin in 18 months, since Saints have been relegated final yr, whereas Ryan Fraser was given the daunting job of shackling Salah from left wing-back. Alex McCarthy had a nervy recreation after changing the injured Aaron Ramsdale in objective. The accusation levelled at Martin since he started life within the dugout at MK Dons in League One has been his groups’ tendency to overplay and the slapstick if not comical method of Liverpool’s objective on the half-hour solely served so as to add one other log to the raging fireplace of debate.

Martin doesn’t want for Saints to self-sabotage. McCarthy rolled the ball to Fernandes and pointed upfield, seemingly not accounting for the site visitors on the midfielder’s radar. Fernandes, hounded by Curtis Jones, handed the ball to Flynn Downes, standing on his goalline. He panicked in possession and hurried a half-baked clearance straight to Szoboszlai, who took a contact to compose himself earlier than lining up an imposing end. Martin shook his head and winced after Szoboszlai caressed an unerring left-foot shot in off a publish. Downes virtually instantly made amends, drawing a nice save from Caoimhín Kelleher.

“I ask them to play rapidly so I take duty for that,” Martin stated. “I feel the gamers who have been within the Premier League [with Southampton] final time really feel very in a different way about this season. Now we have to eradicate these moments to present ourselves an opportunity.”

Onuachu had been a handful, incomes olés from the house help, and Liverpool can have welcomed his untimely exit with a hamstring drawback after colliding with Cody Gakpo six minutes into the second half. The one drawback for Liverpool was that Southampton nonetheless had Tyler Dibling on the pitch. The 18-year-old, who made his England Underneath-21 debut final week, has been Saints’ beacon of sunshine throughout a draining few months. Dibling excelled on his Premier League debut in opposition to Manchester United in September, his direct working inflicting havoc and he received a penalty which Cameron Archer didn’t convert.

Dibling received one other spot-kick right here, haring ahead after seizing on a uncommon lapse by Virgil van Dijk and drawing a crunch from Andy Robertson. The referee, Samuel Barrett, pointed to the spot. This time, after the VAR, Michael Oliver, in a hoodie at Stockley Park, concluded the foul occurred on the sting of the 18-yard field – some angles appeared to point out first contact occurred simply exterior the realm – Armstrong stepped up. His penalty was poor and allowed Kelleher, diving to his proper, to repel his effort, however the striker despatched the rebound by way of the goalkeeper’s legs to degree.

Dibling was on the forefront of each Saints assault and the catalyst for the excellent counter that culminated in Kelleher fishing the ball out of his web 11 minutes after the interval. A transfer that inadvertently started with McCarthy fumbling a Liverpool nook ended with Fernandes neatly side-footing residence Armstrong’s cross. Fraser had launched Dibling, who on the touchline exquisitely checked again to eradicate Szoboszlai. Dibling then freed Armstrong, who lured Robertson, Ibrahima Konaté – who struggled all recreation – and Conor Bradley with him, then stored his cool to find Fernandes, who calmly did the remaining. The Portuguese has been one other large plus.

Nonetheless Southampton, enterprising going ahead however susceptible on the again, have a behavior of leaking factors. Liverpool’s equaliser was one other sickener. Ryan Gravenberch despatched a routine go down the best channel, excessive of Kyle Walker-Peters, and McCarthy rushed from his objective to fulfill it. By the point it dawned on McCarthy that it could not have been one of the best transfer, it was too late as Salah cutely zipped the ball previous him and right into a gaping web.

McCarthy, to his credit score, helped Southampton survive just a few extra bushy episodes however then the substitute Yuki Sugawara gifted the guests one other probability, dealing with Salah’s cross on the again publish. The person himself buried his spot-kick.