It was another win for Liverpool in this evening's Barclays Premier League encounter against Southampton on the South Coast and at Saint Marys, where they have failed to win in the last 3 visits. Perhaps a bit of a shock for fans before kick off when it was announced that a very in form Raheem Sterling was left out of the Starting XI in place of Joe Allen. However the confidence was high as Daniel Sturridge looked to score for the 9th consecutive match, up front of course with Luis Suarez. The news had probably broke to the players that Jonathan Walters' penalty won Stoke the game against Arsenal, meaning that a win for the away side would definitely take them into second place.
Right from the kick off, Liverpool burst forward with Philippe Coutinho trying to find Suarez before being knocked off the ball by Lovren, the scorer for Southampton at Anfield in September. Jon Flanagan looked a little shaky on the right side in the first half, but this didn't surprise me as Sterling would usually be the one to chase for the ball and help the full back stop the Saints' attacking threat. Liverpool did get forward for themselves soon after, with Sturridge coming in from the left side and certainly knocking on the door. Suarez hadn't scored since his side's Merseyside Derby victory at the end of January before this evening, but in the 16th minute, the Uruguayan stroked the ball in to the corner to make it 1-0. The striker fired in brilliantly after the ball took a wicked deflection off of Jose Fonte, setting it up perfectly to tuck it in to the net. Suarez then could have doubled the lead with a free kick just on the edge of the area, but only managed to steer the ball over the bar.
Liverpool were very poor after the goal though, and were breached several times by Southampton. Coutinho played poorly throughout his spell in the game, looking rather lethargic and lost, while also taking too much time to try and keep possession. Luke Shaw, still buzzing after his England call up, was causing havoc on the wing too and looking for an equaliser within minutes of the visitor's opener. Glen Johnson struggled on his return to the Liverpool side last weekend, but there was no sign of any struggle today and started what was great game for him by managing to heroically block a Chambers cross. It seemed that every time Liverpool managed to win the ball back, they lost it again within a matter of moments, as a counter attack was broke down by Fonte. But, all in all it was the Reds who went into the break with the advantage and needed a spirited speech from Brendan Rodgers to pump some urgency back into his side's play. Eventually, Raheem Sterling came on to replace Coutinho in what was an inevitable substitution just before the hour mark. 
It was a bit of a shock, but a good shock it was when I was watching this match and watching a Reds back line that performed very well throughout the encounter. Skrtel made the correct decisions in the second half and didn't look under too much threat when Southampton had set pieces. We also saw a bit of the old Daniel Agger, with the Dane trying to show his attacking side by carrying the ball forward to the midfield and advancing play superbly. Steven Gerrard struck from distance and it looked as if his effort was sailing into the corner, denied only by a smart save from Boruc. Brendan Rodgers told Sky Sports after the game that his side could have had 4 or 5 goals today with the amount of good chances they failed to take. Jordan Henderson failed to find his goalscoring ability by firing over the bar after Suarez had a clear chance at goal before failing to find Sturridge in the area, leaving the ball for the midfielder in the perfect place to shoot. In the latter stages, Suarez was fouled by Victor Wanyama who came through the back and seemed to caused a knock to the League's top scorer, and left many fans, such as myself, scared that the knock may be serious. It was obvious that he fought on because of the war horse he is, and was tripped up inside the box by Fonte and conceding a penalty in the process. This could only go one way, with skipper Gerrard poised to give Liverpool a 3-0 lead in the 94th minute. And in typical Gerrard fashion, he fired the ball into the top corner, and put the icing on the cake and rounded off a great all round performance.
So they did manage it. I didn't think they would, but Arsenal's failure to gain points from the Britannia meant Liverpool went into second place, four points behind Chelsea, who beat Fulham in a West London Derby earlier in the day. They are level on points with the Gunners but are ahead on goal difference, while the Reds are also two points clear of Manchester City, who do however have the chance to return to the top with their two games in hand, as the eyes of football fans lie on the Manchester side's involvement in the Capital One Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment