St Mary’s stadium plays host to tonight’s Premier League clash which sees the in-form Saints take on reigning league champions Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s men will be hoping for a regain of form tonight as they have only managed draws in their last two matches, whereas the saints will be hoping to carry on their fantastic league start which saw them claim a top 10 position coming into the new year.
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- KICK OFF- the Saints get us underway here playing from right to left playing in their traditional red, white and black strip while Liverpool have opted for their artic looking away strip.
2. GOAL – Danny Ings finishes very sharply here clipping it over Alisson, what a well-worked free-kick from James Ward-Prowse catching Liverpool on their heels and it now places the saints 1-0 up.
6. Liverpool will need to step up their game now, already chasing in a must-win game if they want to stay at the top of the Premier League. To their credit, they have looked sharp since going behind just unable to create a chance of substance.
Embed from Getty Images12. CHANCE – Kyle Walker-Peters makes a crucial interception in his own area to block off a Sadio Mane free header, great defending. Corner for Liverpool follows minutes later but Jordan Henderson sends it over the saint’s bar.
15. Quarter of an hour in and Liverpool have gained 2 yellow cards already, Thiago and Andrew Robertson the recipients.
20. Since going behind Liverpool have dominated possession however for all the ball they’ve had they can’t create a real chance, unsettled is the word I’d use to describe this performance so far.
26. CHANCE – the ball breaks well here for Ings and he slides it into Moussa Djenepo but the winger struggles to get over the top of the ball and it sails into the empty rows of red seats behind Alisson.
30. Possible injury for the Saints here as Djenepo takes a seat on the turf as the physios are called on to check the issue, he will be substituted here for Tella as Djenepo is unable to carry on and goes straight down the tunnel.
Embed from Getty Images37. The game has taken a slow turn here, both teams have lacked quality in the last 10 minutes and have struggled to provide any more chances, Klopp will be disappointed with his sides showings just haven’t looked at the races.
Embed from Getty Images40. CHANCE – Ings wins a good header up the pitch here and it bounces nicely for Nathan Tella, he takes it to his right and tries to bend it past Alisson’s left-hand side but it curls just past the post.
45. CORNER – Saints break here led by a great pass by Ward-Prowse, Ings drives it forward and tries to offload it but Henderson sends it out for a corner. 4 minutes to be added on here on the south coast.
45+2. CHANCE – Mane pings a ball into the Saint’s box and Mohammed Salah is the main target however Ryan Bertrand does enough to put off the Egyptian and the ball goes out for a goal kick.
That’s half time here in Southampton, the Saints will take the lead heading into the break and have defended and attacked marvellously, while Liverpool have struggled to mount anything of real substance and will need to fix up their performance if they want to topple Ralph Hasenhuttl men.
SECOND HALF:1-0
46. Liverpool get us underway here, they assume the position of playing from right to left, straight from the off Liverpool have come hard at the saints and have already created an issue for Southampton.
50. Liverpool have bossed this second half so far, countless chances being created, the saints look in for a rough 40 minutes of defending. Another corner for Liverpool follows.
56. SUB- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is replaced by Xherdan Shaqiri.
58. Southampton are living dangerously here, yet another Liverpool corner delivered by Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Saints cannot hold onto possession here as Liverpool launch another attack.
Embed from Getty Images63. One-way traffic as Liverpool continue to attack this Saints defence, but they’ve held out well so far and for all their work Liverpool are still a goal behind.
68. Everything is going the way of the champions here still. However, they can’t find the back of the net, the one-way traffic still lacking the green light of a goal for Liverpool.
74. Liverpool are throwing everything they have at Southampton, a great chance for mane here as it drops for him inside the Saints area but he scruffs his shot and Forester makes easy pickings of the strike.
77.SUB- Ings is off here and so is Alexander-Arnold replaced by Milner on his 35-year-old birthday. Southampton are defending on their last limps but still have ahold of their lead.
82. SUB – on comes Yan Valery for Theo Walcott
84. CHANCE – nearly made 2-0 there as Valery gets the better of Alisson but the ball doesn’t have another pace to get over the line and Henderson sweeps the ball away and back to safety.
Embed from Getty Images90. Unless there is a big comeback here, the saints look on track to take all three points here at home after a great performance from the first to the last. Liverpool even with a good second half haven’t been good enough and looks as if Liverpool will start the new year with a loss. 3 added minutes remain.
90+3. Corner to Liverpool and the keeper is up, a chance for Liverpool to claim something, but the corner is headed over the bar and that sees Southampton claim the victory. Defeat for Liverpool as the Saints boss falls to his knees in joy. Another poor Liverpool performance though surely a reaction is needed in their next game against Aston Villa.
Overall Southampton bossed the game from minute one, even though they lacked the majority of possession their defence was in top form throughout the first and second halves, a dominant performance in a game many thought they would have lost due to the calibre of the opponents however they have once again proved us wrong and continue to slay the giants of the premier league this season.
Man of the Match has to go to Ings after a brilliant finish early on which gave Southampton the lead and ultimately the three points. On the other hand, Alexander-Arnold had a game to forget as he gave away the ball 38 times in the time he was on the pitch until Milner replaced him midway through the second half, the Liverpool front three were also off the boil this evening struggling to register a clear goal-scoring chance throughout the entirety of the game, Liverpool will be hoping that Jota will be on the way back soon as they have been missing his quality upfront in recent games.
Full time Southampton 1-0 Liverpool.
