It was another day at the office for Jurgen Klopp's men as the seventh match of the season to ended the same way as all other six, with Liverpool walking off the pitch as victors. It was absolutely clinical from Liverpool who scored thrice in the first half and saw out the remainder of the match with their usual standard of high defensive play.
What Happened:
The story of the match really could boil down the the first ten minutes. Xherdan Shaqiri, getting his first start for Liverpool, had a brilliant ball from Sadio Mane played to him. Shaqiri took a nice dribble, set himself, delivered a nice cross that pinged off Shane Long, then hit Wesley Hoedt and into the net for a Southampton own goal, but a 1-0 lead to Liverpool. The hot start gave Liverpool the momentum it needed to carry itself through the half well, and they snagged a second about ten minutes later. A brilliant one-two from Bobby Firmino and Mo Salah put Salah free on goal, but Southampton's Cedric was alert to make a goal saving tackle. It was ultimately for naught, though, as the ensuing corner was taken by Trent Alexander-Arnold and met the head of Joel Matip for the second for Liverpool. The Reds were well on their way to three points, but hoped to keep the pressure on.
All eyes, as usual for this season, were on Salah and his supposed 'lack of form' in terms of scoring goals. Cedric's wonder tackle seemed to amplify this, and Salah's hard luck back heel going just wide was another instance of wondering about if his luck would have to wait another match. But just before the half ended, Liverpool were given a free kick just a touch outside the box. Shaqiri took it well and hit the post, but it was Salah there to blast it over the line to make three. The smile on Salah's face was massive and surely he was feeling a bit of the pressure that was forced onto him. Regardless, it was lovely delivery from Shaqiri whose sub off on the second half was cause for a little disappointment, but he was outstanding today and surely earned him 45-90 minutes midweek against Chelsea in the League Cup.
The second half was not as exciting for spectators, but it was nice for Liverpool fans who got to see their side see off a three-goal lead. Southampton took till the 91st minute to get their first shot on target of the half, a shot that was saved well near post by Alisson on Charlie Austin. Surely some panic will spread with the removal of Virgil van Dijk in about the 55th minute with a bruised rib. Jurgen Klopp's post-game presser quotes were very much of a non-statement, but Joe Gomez and Matip combined to form a brilliant center back partnership proving that Liverpool will have four center backs (once Dejan Lovren is to full fitness) that are capable to doing a job. Liverpool dominated the game throughout the second half of the match and did well in preserving a clean sheet en route to all three points in the league once again.
What Happened:
Plenty of praise has to go to Xherdan Shaqiri for his brilliance today. Played as a number ten in a sort of 4-2-3-1 version of the typical 4-3-3 Liverpool line-up, Southampton did not seem to know how to cover Shaqiri, who glided through the Southampton midfield and defense with ease. He doesn't get credit on the stat sheet for either of the goals he directly influenced, but his impact was seen by anyone who watched the match. His substitution off was to reign more control in midfield, where the majority of the second half was played, and James Milner was perfect in to play that role in the second half. The 45 minutes each for Shaqiri and Milner gave them both a bit of time out to keep them in full fitness and allows Klopp to have plenty of options to turn to both midweek and next week, depending how he manages the cup tie.
Southampton really struggled to get anything going for themselves, even with Cedric given some rather open space to run down the wing. Mark Hughes went for a 4-1-4-1 opting to be a bit more defensive away from home and bringing in Oriol Romeu to play as holding mid while keeping Shane Long alone on the top, which left him quite isolated as Virgil van Dijk handled his former teammate well. The midfield performance from Romeu was admirably, with four tackles and five interceptions, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg saw plenty of the ball as the attacks the Saints tried ran through him, but players like Mario Lemina and Nathan Redmond who have the potential to look dangerous were shut down well by the Liverpool defense. Still, Southampton just seemed to be not up to the caliber of play that Liverpool were and have been for much of the season. That is of course not a knock on Southampton, but especially for the first half Southampton just seemed to be not ready for the task at hand that was Liverpool.
As previously mentioned, van Dijk went off with a knock -- which is being reported as an aggravation to an already bruised rib. The defense's shining star today, though, was Joel Matip, who got his first start of the season next to van Dijk. His 122 touches and 112 passes are easy evidence to show just how involved he was in the game. His header was lovely (and saw some very nice misdirection from van Dijk too) and a goal on his full debut was a cherry on top. Matip gets forward so well out of the center back position and at 6'5", his lanky frame is difficult to get around. Of course, 6'7" Jannik Vestergaard was marking him on the corner, so size does not always matter. But still, the pairing of Matip and van Dijk worked brilliantly, and Joe Gomez came on in relief of van Dijk and continued the good work, muscling players, particularly Redmond, off and away from the ball looking like the star he has been throughout the season so far.
Finally, the midfield. I talked about Shaqiri's impact, but the double pivot of Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson in the 4-2-3-1 before Milner came on was footballing joy to watch. Henderson's 90 passes and 95.6% accuracy proves just how vital he is on the pitch for Liverpool. Both men were a bit quieter in that neither man's play will grab headlines in this match, this is a bit of running theme for both men, but the stability the pair of midfielders provide to this side is vital in allowing the front three (or, in today's case, the front four) the attacking freedom they have in front of them.
What's Next:
Liverpool host Chelsea on Wednesday in the EFL Cup match which will likely serve as a sparring session before the two teams meet in London next weekend, Saturday the 29th, in a Premier League match. Chelsea visit West Ham tomorrow, and a win will see both teams enter their league bout with 6-0-0 records. It should be a very exciting weekend and fans will become familiar with Chelsea quite quickly.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
What Happened:
The story of the match really could boil down the the first ten minutes. Xherdan Shaqiri, getting his first start for Liverpool, had a brilliant ball from Sadio Mane played to him. Shaqiri took a nice dribble, set himself, delivered a nice cross that pinged off Shane Long, then hit Wesley Hoedt and into the net for a Southampton own goal, but a 1-0 lead to Liverpool. The hot start gave Liverpool the momentum it needed to carry itself through the half well, and they snagged a second about ten minutes later. A brilliant one-two from Bobby Firmino and Mo Salah put Salah free on goal, but Southampton's Cedric was alert to make a goal saving tackle. It was ultimately for naught, though, as the ensuing corner was taken by Trent Alexander-Arnold and met the head of Joel Matip for the second for Liverpool. The Reds were well on their way to three points, but hoped to keep the pressure on.
All eyes, as usual for this season, were on Salah and his supposed 'lack of form' in terms of scoring goals. Cedric's wonder tackle seemed to amplify this, and Salah's hard luck back heel going just wide was another instance of wondering about if his luck would have to wait another match. But just before the half ended, Liverpool were given a free kick just a touch outside the box. Shaqiri took it well and hit the post, but it was Salah there to blast it over the line to make three. The smile on Salah's face was massive and surely he was feeling a bit of the pressure that was forced onto him. Regardless, it was lovely delivery from Shaqiri whose sub off on the second half was cause for a little disappointment, but he was outstanding today and surely earned him 45-90 minutes midweek against Chelsea in the League Cup.
The second half was not as exciting for spectators, but it was nice for Liverpool fans who got to see their side see off a three-goal lead. Southampton took till the 91st minute to get their first shot on target of the half, a shot that was saved well near post by Alisson on Charlie Austin. Surely some panic will spread with the removal of Virgil van Dijk in about the 55th minute with a bruised rib. Jurgen Klopp's post-game presser quotes were very much of a non-statement, but Joe Gomez and Matip combined to form a brilliant center back partnership proving that Liverpool will have four center backs (once Dejan Lovren is to full fitness) that are capable to doing a job. Liverpool dominated the game throughout the second half of the match and did well in preserving a clean sheet en route to all three points in the league once again.
What Happened:
Plenty of praise has to go to Xherdan Shaqiri for his brilliance today. Played as a number ten in a sort of 4-2-3-1 version of the typical 4-3-3 Liverpool line-up, Southampton did not seem to know how to cover Shaqiri, who glided through the Southampton midfield and defense with ease. He doesn't get credit on the stat sheet for either of the goals he directly influenced, but his impact was seen by anyone who watched the match. His substitution off was to reign more control in midfield, where the majority of the second half was played, and James Milner was perfect in to play that role in the second half. The 45 minutes each for Shaqiri and Milner gave them both a bit of time out to keep them in full fitness and allows Klopp to have plenty of options to turn to both midweek and next week, depending how he manages the cup tie.
Southampton really struggled to get anything going for themselves, even with Cedric given some rather open space to run down the wing. Mark Hughes went for a 4-1-4-1 opting to be a bit more defensive away from home and bringing in Oriol Romeu to play as holding mid while keeping Shane Long alone on the top, which left him quite isolated as Virgil van Dijk handled his former teammate well. The midfield performance from Romeu was admirably, with four tackles and five interceptions, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg saw plenty of the ball as the attacks the Saints tried ran through him, but players like Mario Lemina and Nathan Redmond who have the potential to look dangerous were shut down well by the Liverpool defense. Still, Southampton just seemed to be not up to the caliber of play that Liverpool were and have been for much of the season. That is of course not a knock on Southampton, but especially for the first half Southampton just seemed to be not ready for the task at hand that was Liverpool.
As previously mentioned, van Dijk went off with a knock -- which is being reported as an aggravation to an already bruised rib. The defense's shining star today, though, was Joel Matip, who got his first start of the season next to van Dijk. His 122 touches and 112 passes are easy evidence to show just how involved he was in the game. His header was lovely (and saw some very nice misdirection from van Dijk too) and a goal on his full debut was a cherry on top. Matip gets forward so well out of the center back position and at 6'5", his lanky frame is difficult to get around. Of course, 6'7" Jannik Vestergaard was marking him on the corner, so size does not always matter. But still, the pairing of Matip and van Dijk worked brilliantly, and Joe Gomez came on in relief of van Dijk and continued the good work, muscling players, particularly Redmond, off and away from the ball looking like the star he has been throughout the season so far.
Finally, the midfield. I talked about Shaqiri's impact, but the double pivot of Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson in the 4-2-3-1 before Milner came on was footballing joy to watch. Henderson's 90 passes and 95.6% accuracy proves just how vital he is on the pitch for Liverpool. Both men were a bit quieter in that neither man's play will grab headlines in this match, this is a bit of running theme for both men, but the stability the pair of midfielders provide to this side is vital in allowing the front three (or, in today's case, the front four) the attacking freedom they have in front of them.
What's Next:
Liverpool host Chelsea on Wednesday in the EFL Cup match which will likely serve as a sparring session before the two teams meet in London next weekend, Saturday the 29th, in a Premier League match. Chelsea visit West Ham tomorrow, and a win will see both teams enter their league bout with 6-0-0 records. It should be a very exciting weekend and fans will become familiar with Chelsea quite quickly.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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