Southampton showed that they are not lagging behind in the race for European football and tore open a ragtag Liverpool defence with three unanswered goals in the second-half.
A long-range dazzler from Phillipe Coutinho and a tidy finish from Daniel Sturridge on the back of some good interplay saw the Reds up 2-0 at halftime. It looked as though Southampton may have missed their opportunity to start a fightback, when halftime substitute Sadio Mané failed to convert from the spot shortly after the restart.
It was to be Liverpool’s first ever Premier League loss from a two goals up at the interval, however, with Mané scoring a brace and Graziano Pellè adding one to his tally also. Despite having played two more games, the win sees the St. Mary’s team put three points between themselves and the now ninth placed Reds.
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Southampton
Fraser Forster – 6.5: Conceded twice, but still managed to make a few smart saves.
Ryan Bertrand – 7.0: Very solid, looking in good contention for the England left-back spot.
Virgil van Dijk – 7.0: Perhaps should have got his name on the scoresheet from a free header, but was otherwise a good performance.
José Fonte – 6.0: Returned to the lineup after his suspension and was outdone by some slick passing play in the Reds attacking third on occasion.
Cuco Martina – 5.0: Unable to replicate his good recent performances, being thoroughly bested by Coutinho.
Oriol Romeu – 5.5: Largely anonymous in the Saints midfield.
Jordy Clasie – 5.5: Similar to Romeu in his lack of impact on this game.
Dusan Tadić – 5.5: Not really able to get anything going in the first-half before being withdrawn.
Steven Davis – 7.0: His work rate shone through again, was really the only spark in the Saints’ midfield.
Shane Long – 7.0: Another solid shift from the Irishman caused a lot of headaches for the Liverpool backline.
Graziano Pellè – 7.5: Strong, aggressive and did well to find his side first a penalty and then later an equaliser off of some smart attacking work. It was his well weighted ball that found Mané for the winner.
Substitutes
Sadio Mane – 8.5: Superb off the bench with the only real black spot on the day his failure to convert from 12-yards. Substituted on for Tadić at halftime.
Victor Wanyama – 6.5: An improvement in midfield, helping tip the balance Southampton’s way. Replaced Clasie at the break.
James Ward-Prowse – 6.0: No major contributions in his time on the pitch. Was substituted on for Romeu in the 69th minute.
15 – Liverpool have dropped the most points from leading positions in the Premier League this season (15). Careless.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 20, 2016
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 7.0: Could hardly be found at fault for the goals conceded and made an excellent stop to deny Mané’s penalty.
Nathaniel Clyne – 6.0: One of the contingent of returning former Saints and failed to really stamp any authority, though was in unfamiliar surroundings at left-back.
Mamadou Sakho – 6.0: Powerful in the first-half but saw his defence cut to ribbons in the second.
Dejan Lovren – 5.0: Possibly a little lucky not to have been given his marching orders for a foul on Shane Long inside the box. The ex-Southampton man was withdrawn at the interval.
Jon Flanagan – 6.5: Awarded the captain’s armband for the match, but the result ended things sourly.
Phillipe Coutinho – 7.0: Impressive yet again and looked one of the most threatening Reds. Seems to be in a habit of scoring long-range belters against Southampton.
Emre Can – 6.0: Started strongly but saw his influence wane as things went on.
Joe Allen – 6.5: Played with confidence and saw a goal disallowed.
Adam Lallana – 6.5: Was on the end of a rough reception from the locals and the former Southampton captain failed to give enough to see his new team victorious.
Daniel Sturridge – 6.0: Scored a nice goal, but is still severely lacking fitness.
Divock Origi – 6.5: Worked hard early but faded as time went on.
Substitutes
Martin Škrtel – 4.5: His only real memorable contribution was conceding a penalty. Was substituted on for Lovren at halftime.
Christian Benteke – 5.5: Did not really add anything to the team after coming on. Took the place of Sturridge in the 70th minute.
Sheyi Ojo – N/A: Substituted on for Origi in the 87th minute.
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