Danny Ings returns to haunt Jurgen Klopp as Southampton stun Liverpool
Danny Ings, right, celebrates after scoring Southampton's winning goal against Liverpool.
Debate before this game was focused on Jurgen Klopp’s response to his limited defensive options. By the time the final whistle had confirmed Liverpool second defeat of the Premier League season, attention had shifted to the unexpected shortcomings of an attack that failed to conjure a response after falling behind to Danny Ings’s second minute goal.
Ings suffered a serious knee injury in Klopp’s first week in charge at Anfield. He provided the Reds manager with a reminder of his qualities, though when he struck his 50th Premier League goal to put Southampton ahead.
Liverpool’s response was unconvincing before the break, then ineffective when they dominated the second half. tellingly, it took until the 75th minute to test keeper Fraser Forster and the outcome was they failed in their efforts to move clear at the head of the table after failing to win for a third successive game.
Klopp reacted to the disappointing draw at Newcastle United by making three changes to his line-up, with Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnladum coming into the midfield. More intriguing, though, was the manager’s decision to pair Jordan Henderson with Fabinho in the heart of his defence.
The move was a reflection of the injuries that have affected so many of Klopp’s senior defenders but raised questions about how the makeshift backline would handle the threat of a Southampton attack led by Ings.
The answer came quickly, although no blame could be attached to the unfamiliar centre-back pairing. Thiago, who was making his first start since he was injured in the Merseyside derby in mid October, was pulled up for a foul on Stuart Armstrong, allowing James Ward-Prowse to chip the free-kick to the left hand side of the Liverpool penalty area where Ings had run after drifting off Trent Alexander-Arnold, his marker. The forward then showed great awareness to hook the ball over Alisson and put Southampton ahead with less than two minutes on the clock.
Hasenhuttl, back in the Southampton dug-out after being forced to self-isolate, had also been forced to make changes, including a first appearance of the season for keeper Fraser Forster in place of Alex McCarthy who was ruled out after testing positive for coronavirus.
Yet while Forster betrayed signs of nerves when he almost played a clearance directly out to Sadio Mane, Liverpool failed to test the keeper, despite responding positively to falling behind so early.
Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino all showed flashes without being able to create a clear opening on goal while Southampton remained threatening whenever they played the ball behind the Liverpool backline. A ball forward by Armstrong allowed Ings to find space before laying off for Moussa Djenepo who should have done better than fire his shot over the bar.
Ings was again involved when he beat Henderson to a header and flicked the ball on to Nathan Tella, introduced in place of Djenepo who was forced out with a hamstring injury. The youngster did well to wrong-foot Fabinho but was unable to curl his shot inside Alisson’s left hand post.
The warning signs were there for Liverpool but they were unable to stifle Southampton, and in particular Ings, who collected an excellent pass from James Ward-Prowse before delivering a low cross towards Theo Walcott who would have clear opportunity had Henderson not cut out the danger with a well timed interception.
There was indication Klopp’s side were finally moving through the gears immediately before the interval when Sadio Mane worked his way past Kyle Walker-Peters and delivered a cross towards Salah who was unable to keep his header down.
That meant the visitors reached half-time having failed to register an attempt on target. The statistic was telling, and it was no surprise there was a more determined air about their play. when they emerged for the second period.
Mane was the main threat, operating on the left where he repeatedly troubled Walker-Peters, including when the Liverpool forward went to ground under a challenge from the full-back, prompting appeals for a penalty. A succession of balls into the box failed to meet their target as Southampton’s defending grew more obstinate and when Wijnaldum’s shot was blocked by Jack Stephens’s arm, Liverpool’s appeals were again ignored.
By now, Alisson was largely a bystander as Klopp’s side dominated possession. Mane found space inside the area following a deflection off Armstrong but again Stephens intervened with a diving block and his efforts were matched by fellow centre-back Jan Bednarek to block and effort by Andy Robertson.
Tellingly, it took until the 75th minute for the Reds to finally get a shot on target when Mane’s shot was saved by Forster. But if Klopp was hoping that would trigger further opportunities, he was mistaken.
Instead, it was Southampton who came closest to scoring in the final stages of the game when Yan Valery found himself clear on the right, moments after replacing Walcott, and with Alisson out of his area, struck the ball through the keeper’s legs only to see the effort cleared by Henderson before it reached the goal.
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