Southampton 1-2 Liverpool:
In what was a must win game for the reds to take the title race down to the final game of the season the lads once again did not disappoint.. Coming from behind against The Saints at St Mary's..
In the second away game in succession there was controversy surrounding the early goal for the hosts. Like Villa before where Watkins was clearly offside before they scored. This time it was a clear foul on Jota..
Redmond still had a lot to do mind you. Racing up the left wing and cutting inside to shoot. Had it not taken a wicked deflection Ali would have saved it quite easily, but it was just taken away from his outstretched hand.
Did VAR intervene.. No.. Of course not.. A total waste of what could be honest game changing technology once again.. You have to ask questions..
Taki Makes It 1 All:
In all honesty that was Southamptons one real chance on the night and they never really threatened.. We dominated possession 71% to 29% which tells a great story. One we will look at later..
Minamino who came in to the side along with quite a few other changes was playing really well and hit a rocket of an equaliser.. The ball was passed in to Jota who played a nice one touch pass to release Taki in the right hand side of the box..
He unleashed a fierce shot in to the top right hand corner before the keeper had time to think.. I can't remember many games this season that Minamino hasn't scored when he's started.. He is a top top finisher..
Joe Gomez Limp Off:
One downside of the night was seeing Joe Gomez taken off at half time after a Southampton player landed awkwardly on Joe's leg after a tackle from our defender..
That's three games in a row now we have lost players in the first half of a game. With Fab & Mo also departing early against Villa and Chelsea respectively.
The good news though as it stands is that none of these are thought to be serious and all could well feature this weekend and or in Paris next weekend.. Fingers crossed.
Jo-El Matip The Striker:
We had to wait til mid way through the second half before we hit the winner and it came once again through a firm fans favourite.. Jo-El heading in from a Tsimikas corner. The ball taking what seemed like an eternity to hit the back of the net..
Matip is fine form in front of goal after scoring that equaliser against Villa.. Surely a shout for striker.. Could save a few quid when teams are splashing out Haaland like cash.. Only Kidding..
What a player he has been this season though after finally putting his injury problems behind him from the season before.. and what a great person he is too to have around the place.. Le-Gend..
The Take Away:
As well as the huge 3 points we take from this game there were a huge amount of positives to look at, and look forward to in the future.
Sure we were playing a Southampton team that had nothing to play for but we made a huge number of changes for a game that was still of great importance to us, against their first 11 and I really liked what I saw..
Southampton set up to park the bus and counter attack.. Nothing new here with most teams we face but our team looked patient, in total control and very very dangerous. Dominating possession for large parts of the game..
With a front line of Minamino, Bobby & Jota. Backed up by a midfield of youngsters Harvey Elliott & Curtis Jones plus the experienced James Milner in holding midfield.. Every one of these players is comfortable on the ball and technically gifted. Playing the pass and move we are renowned for.
The ball sticks with these players and rather than passing around the back line we were passing and probing at there back line. The ball was constantly moving as were the players. Looking for them one touch, two touch passes. Often cutting through Southampton with ease creating chance after chance.
Tsimikas & Gomez provided nice width and some quality crosses. Particularly our left back.. Center backs Matip and Star Player Ibrahima Konate constantly pushed up and won every ball before their players could get anywhere near it.
Remember this team was minus Salah, Mane, Diaz, Thiago, Fabinho, Trent, Robbo, Virg, Keita & Hendo (who did come on as a sub) you can see just how bright the future is for our club, and the new dynamic these players bring.
With new signings like Carvalho too we can look forward to seeing some quality football for many years to come with these young talented players..
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