Liverpool vs Southampton LIVE: Premier League result as Salah makes more history and Reds go 16 points clear
Liverpool 3-1 Southampton: Mohamed Salah moved level with Sergio Aguero on 184 Premier League goals as the Reds moved 16 points clear
Liverpool produced a rapid response to bottom side Southampton taking a shock lead at Anfield, as the Reds extended their advantage over Arsenal to a huge 16 points and took another step closer to the Premier League title on day which saw Mohamed Salah make more history.
Struggling Southampton started the day 58 points behind Liverpool in the table but grew in confidence in the first half and stunned Anfield with the opening goal. Alisson, Liverpool’s hero in Paris in midweek, was at fault as Will Smallbone profited from a breakdown of communication between the goalkeeper and Virgil van Dijk.
Arne Slot made a triple change at the break and Liverpool’s response was immediate. Darwin Nunez, who may have been sent off for a kick at Kyle Walker-Peters, turned in at the front post shortly after the restart and was then fouled in the box by Smallbone.
Up stepped Salah, who moved into third in Liverpool’s all-time goalscorers list. And a second penalty for Salah, in the 86th minute, took him level with Sergio Aguero in the all-time Premier League scoring charts with 184.
Follow all the reaction Liverpool came from behind to beat Southampton in the Premier League
Darwin Nunez rises to Arne Slot’s call and leads a Liverpool transformation
Arne Slot had talked his way into trouble. When an ignominious defeat beckoned for Liverpool he may have talked them out of it. Confined to the directors’ box for his verbal assault on Michael Oliver after the Merseyside derby, Slot’s touchline ban did not prevent him going to the dressing room at half-time. However angry he was, his words changed the game.
Mohamed Salah described his manager’s mood as “a bit of frustration”. Slot probably showed a nice line in understatement when he said: “I didn’t give them compliments at half-time, I can tell you.” Three changes came immediately, two goals soon after. Victory followed, just as the title surely will. It may render this a footnote.
Darwin Nunez rises to Arne Slot’s call and leads an eventful Liverpool transformation
Mohamed Salah on moving level with Sergio Aguero on 184 PL goals
“I knew about the record but I didn’t think about it while I was playing. But I know about the record. It’s a good record to be equalising; Sergio is a great player, he was a legend here for the league. So I’m happy about that and I’m happy about the win as well.”
Liverpool equal 90-year scoring record
Liverpool have now gone 19 successive home games where they have scored at least two goals, equalling Sunderland's top-flight record from 1935.
Harvey Elliott's on Liverpool lead in Premier League
A couple of days after his impact in the Parc des Princes, Harvey Elliott helped change the game with another productive display off the bench in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Southampton.
"In my eyes, it's just my job to come on and influence the game where I can,” Elliott told the BBC. "The last two games have been very tough - it is not about me, it's about the whole team.
"It was an intense game. Especially with the travel, we only had one day to prepare for this game and hats off to Southampton - they made it tough throughout the whole game.
"We need to keep winning games - it's as simple as that. It's about taking it game-by-game and making sure we apply ourselves in the best possible way."
Arne Slot's changes key to Liverpool comeback
Arne Slot - who was serving the final game of his touchline suspension in the Main Stand - responded to Liverpool’s lacklustre first-half display with three interval substitutions.
Wednesday's match-winner Harvey Elliott, Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister made an immediate difference as the tempo increased with Luis Diaz, who was lucky to escape the half-time cull after a lethargic display, also positively impacted.
With one of his first touches, Elliott forced the first save out of Aaron Ramsdale, with Robertson flicking an effort wide from a half-cleared corner. It was the spark Liverpool needed and they turned the game around in the space of five minutes against the bottom side.
Mohamed Salah on Liverpool's win over Southampton
Mohamed Salah has been speaking to Premier League productions and admits Liverpool “did not play well” in the first half against Southampton.
"It was a bit of frustration,” Salah said when asked what the emotions were at half-time. “We were sloppy and slow in the first half. I don't think we played good today.
“If you want to win the Champions League or Premier League you have to win these games like that."
When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?
Liverpool took another step closer to the Premier League title as a comeback victory over Southampton moved the Reds 16 points clear of Arsenal in the table with nine games remaining
Liverpool are now on 70 points through 29 games and the Reds need just 18 points out of a possible 27 to guarantee the title, with Arsenal only able to obtain a maximum of 87 points – if they were to win all of their remaining 11 games, that is.
Liverpool fans may still be looking over their shoulders with some nerves, but the truth is that the club is edging towards another top-flight title – but when is the earliest that they could clinch number 20?
When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?
FULL TIME! Liverpool 3-1 Southampton
Understandably, Liverpool may have been looking at Tuesday’s second leg with Paris Saint-Germain in the first half.
But they regained their focus after half time and can now look forward to a huge night at Anfield in two days’ time.
And it looks like Liverpool have come through unscathed, too.
FULL TIME! Liverpool 3-1 Southampton
A game of two halves. Liverpool were soporific in the first, far more energetic and effective in the second. Arne Slot's team talk at the break must have been interesting. It certainly had an impact.
FULL TIME! Liverpool 3-1 Southampton
More Premier League history for Salah. Only four players have more goals than him now, and that should be three by the end of the season...
260 - Alan Shearer
213 - Harry Kane
208 - Wayne Rooney
187 - Andy Cole
184 - Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
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