Saints expose Rodgers’ Reds

Liverpool 0 Southampton 1

Brendan Rodgers’ side failed to find a way through Southampton’s defensive brickwall after they fell behind having simply run out of ideas on Saturday afternoon.

The defeat that followed cost the Reds their unbeaten record and top spot in the Premier League table. And it stressed the significance of that crafty little devil Luis Suarez to Liverpool’s ambitions for this campaign.

Luckily for the red half of Merseyside Suarez’s penance for biting the arm of Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic comes to an end after this match.

Suarez’s summer transfer transgressions have also been forgiven and forgotten by most Liverpool fans ahead of the Uruguay striker’s imminent return from a 10-match ban.

And Reds defender Kolo Toure admits Suarez’s comeback, potentially in the Capital One Cup against Manchester United on Wednesday, is ideal timing.

“We’ve had Daniel Sturridge playing so well for us,” Toure said.

“But Luis will strengthen the team. The two of them will be a very strong partnership.

“Luis is a fantastic player. He’s a top striker who can score a goal at any time. He is a winner. He’s always working hard. You want those kind of players. That’s what we were doing at the start of the season. We need to do that again.”

Suarez has been suspended from competitive action for Liverpool since that infamous game against Chelsea back in April.

But Toure insists Suarez’s enforced break has not diminished his sharpness one iota.

He said: “I’m sure he will be ready to be thrown back in. You saw from his international appearance the other week, in the first game he’d played for a while he scored twice for Uruguay. That just shows how strong the guy is. His return is going to be massive for us, definitely. Luis has been very difficult to defend against in training lately. Very, very difficult.......”

Liverpool were also without Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who has been ruled out for six weeks after a shoulder operation, against Southampton but they had started positively .

England striker Sturridge teed up Jordan Henderson on the edge of the penalty area but the Reds midfielder saw his short go straight at Artur Boruc in the Saints goal.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard curled a free-kick towards the top-right corner only for Boruc to scramble across and produce a diving one-handed save.

But apart from a shot by Victor Moses and a penalty appeal from Sturridge that was the best of it for the home side in the first half as they failed to unlock the Saints defence.

And it was the visitors who showed the greater intent early in the second half as Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was forced to make a smart save from Adam Lallana.

Rodgers had selected a Liverpool defence which included four centre-backs, only to see them concede a goal from a Lallana corner despite their height advantage.

Croatian Dejan Lovren outmuscled Daniel Agger as the pair challenged for a high ball to the back post and the Saints defender saw his header cross the line despite Gerrard’s last-ditch attempts to clear.

Gerrard forced Boruc to make a smart save with a low stinging free-kick on the hour-mark but that was as good as it got as the then Saints battened down the hatches.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side would probably have increased their advantage had Mignolet not been quick of his line to deny Luke Shaw.

And Southampton midfielder Lallana believes such a landmark victory against one of the big guns will give his side a huge injection of belief.

“It gives you massive confidence,” Lallana said. “We beat them at home last season, but coming to Anfield is a different kettle of fish.

“It’s a different atmosphere and it’s got to give us great belief and confidence for the rest of the season.

“This is a special place to win and I think we thoroughly deserved it. We had chances to make it two or three-nil in the second half.

“We want to improve on last season. We set our own standards and if we’re winning at places like Anfield, we want to be competing with the best.”

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Mignolet 6; Toure 6, Skrtel 5 (Alberto 72, 6), Agger 5 (Enrique 57, 6), Sakho 5; Gerrard 7, Lucas 6; Henderson 6, Aspas 5 (Sterling 46, 6), Moses 6; Sturridge 7.

SOUTHAMPTON (4-1-4-1): Boruc 7; Clyne 6, Fonte 7, Lovren 8, Shaw 7; Wanyama 6; Lallana 6 (Ward-Prowse 76, 5), Schneiderlin 6, Osvaldo 7, Rodriguez 6 (Cork 89); Lambert 6 (S Davis 66, 6).

Referee: Nigel Swarbrick.