Southampton vs Liverpool player ratings as Saints inflict painful defeat on league leaders

Southampton 1-0 Liverpool: Ings’ early goal proves the difference at St Mary’s

Danny Ings celebrates (Getty Images)

Southampton inflicted a second defeat of the season on reigning champions Liverpool in the Premier League, winning 1-0 at home.

The match was barely underway when Danny Ings lobbed Alisson from an angle following a free-kick and the Reds’ first half showing was filled with errors in possession. They went close through Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane also missed a good chance, but Saints equally could have hit a second through sub Nathan Tella.

Liverpool were far more attack-minded after the break and had almost complete dominance, but Mane, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri were wildly off-target with chances and two penalty shouts were turned down.

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The best late chance went to Saints’ Yan Valery as he beat an onrushing Alisson, but Jordan Henderson was able to reach the ball before it crossed the line and the match finished with just the one goal in it.

Here are the player ratings for both teams from St. Mary’s on Monday night.

Southampton

Fraser Forster - 7. Came off his line to good effect more than once and made a good one-on-one stop against Salah.

Kyle Walker-Peters - 6. His pace meant he won the battle against Robertson more than once, but in the second half Mane gave him something of a run-around. Lucky not to concede a penalty.

Jan Bednarek - 7. Didn’t have a whole lot to do first half other than head and clear the ball. After the break it was more attritional and he held his ground well.

Jack Stephens - 7. Made a couple of good clearances inside the area and one huge block on Mane after the break.

Ryan Bertrand - 6. Stronger than Salah in direct duels and made a good tackle in the box on him too. Not overly influential going forward.

Stuart Armstrong - 7. A willing runner, a constant tracker of runs, neat on the ball and always ready to cover infield.

James Ward-Prowse - 7. Played some fine passes through the midfield lines and assisted the early goal.

Ibrahima Diallo - 8. Hard-working to keep closing down the Reds’ middle trio. Made a fantastic block clearance in the box against Mane.

Moussa Djenepo - 6. Didn’t get too heavily involved in the game and went off injured on the half-hour mark.

Theo Walcott - 6. Off-the-ball work was constant but he had a quiet first half. Fired his only real chance well over the bar.

Danny Ings - 7. 50th Premier League goal with almost his first touch of the night. Good hold-up play and work rate after the break.

Liverpool

Alisson Becker - 6. Nothing he could do about the early goal, but almost played his team into trouble later in the first half.

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 4. Caught out for the early free-kick. Remains so far below his best level at present. Poor crossing throughout.

Jordan Henderson - 5. A few important recovery runs in an unfamiliar position, but struggled with positional and aerial work.

Fabinho - 5. Struggled like the rest of the defence with another new collection of faces.

Andy Robertson - 5. Energetic as ever but missing end product and made a cynical foul or two.

Thiago Alcantara - 6. Booked early on and struggled with the pace of transitions at times, but was predictably excellent on the ball and pushed the Reds’ intent after the break.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 5. Looked very rusty in his first league start of the season.

Gini Wijnaldum - 5. Very little impact for the Reds in the first half. Better with the rest after the break but couldn’t find a route through.

Mohamed Salah - 4. Gave the ball away far too often and not aggressive when heading into dangerous positions. Headed over a good chance before half-time. Anonymous after the break.

Roberto Firmino - 6. Neat link-up play but no goal threat. Created a few good chances thanks to his quick turns and first touch.

Sadio Mane - 7. Made a few good runs but spooned a fine chance over the bar. Was the best outlet after the break, could have won a penalty and dribbled through Saints’ defence multiple times.