Liverpool win comfortably down on the south coast by two goals to nil. First-half goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah was enough for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who now return to winning ways.
A mistake from Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt allowed Salah to set up Firmino, who finished superbly.
Firmino returned the favour later on with a sumptuous back heel flick that put Salah through one-on-one and he was never going to miss.
Here’s our Liverpool player ratings:
Loris Karius: 6
Didn’t have much to do at all really. Some of his punches were questionable and I thought it invited unnecessary pressure. He did make a good save in the first-half at 1-0 and that turned out to be a pivotal point in the game.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7
Had some good moments going forward and looked dangerous. His defending was solid when called upon. The youngster is really making a name for himself this season and is establishing himself as a very competent young right-back.
Virgil van Dijk: 8
A chorus of boos every time he got the ball, as expected. He seemed to thrive off it, though. A sign of a top-class player. Van Dijk’s best game in a Liverpool shirt by a distance. Looked worth every single penny of the £75m price tag today and long may it continue.
Joel Matip: 7.5
A very comfortable second-half for the whole Liverpool defence and Matip did really well. Him and Van Dijk looked a solid partnership.
Andy Robertson: 7
Looked as dangerous as ever in the opposition half and defended excellently. The Scottish international is establishing himself as the Reds’ first choice left-back following Alberto Moreno’s injury a while back.
Emre Can: 7.5
Can captained the side today and thrived off it. Thought he was very effective in the centre of the midfield. The German started off several counter attacks with good tackling and dribbling to bring it forward. I think it’s important the Reds do all they can to convince Can to stay beyond the summer with his contract running out.
Gini Wijnaldum: 7
Had a couple of chances to get his first league away goal and was unlucky with. He showed signs of his creative side today, which is something we don’t see enough from the Dutchman. I think Klopp will look to start Wijnaldum in Portugal in midweek too.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6
Didn’t really get involved for the hour he was on the pitch. He didn’t do anything noticeably wrong and linked up with other attackers well at times but just wasn’t involved enough which I think had an impact on Klopp’s decision to withdraw him.
Mohamed Salah: 8.5
A goal and an assist for the Egyptian. A fantastic give and go with Firmino that set up Salah and he finished with ease. Influential as always going forward and you can tell defenders are just terrified of Salah. Mistakes are always made when he’s chasing the ball with his blistering speed. 22 goals for the Egyptian in the league now.
Sadio Mane: 7
I thought his overall performance was good against his former side. He looked dangerous going forward but his finishing touch that was there for all of last season is missing currently. He could have had potentially two or three goals. Hopefully it’s just a blip and he finds the goalscoring touch again.
Roberto Firmino: 8.5
Like Salah, a goal and an assist for the Brazilian. His work-rate was tremendous and his finishing nowadays is clinical. Last season I thought it was the one part of his game he needed to work on but recently he’s looking the complete striker. 20 goals in all competitions now for Firmino and he’s integral to this side. Him and Salah have become Klopp’s most important players.
Substitutes:
James Milner (60′) – 7
Thought Milner had a positive impact on the game when replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the hour mark. He’s a player good to bring on when seeing a lead out and that’s exactly what the Reds did today.
Adam Lallana (79′) – N/A
Replaced Roberto Firmino with ten minutes to go.
Dejan Lovren (89′) – N/A
The Croatian got a chance to face his former club, albeit very briefly. Replaced Mo Salah.
