Liverpool travelled to St Mary’s to face Southampton under huge pressure to get a result, especially following fellow top 4 rivals Man United and Spurs both dropping points alike. Thankfully, they took full advantage with an impressive away performance, claiming all 3 points to go just 2 points off 4th spot. Here’s how our individual players performed.
Simon Mignolet – 9/10
You couldn’t ask for much more. Mignolet goes from strength to strength and this was yet another outstanding display by the Belgian. He made series of vital stops in the first half especially, as well as holding on to a powerful, bouncing Dusan Tadic free kick late on, whilst punching and catching long balls with supreme confidence. This was his 5th consecutive clean sheet away from home- the first time this feat has been achieved by Liverpool since 1985. It’s a great achievement and Mignolet has been integral to it.
Dejan Lovren – 6/10
Lovren stepped in for the injured Mamadou Sakho to face his former club, playing on the right of the back three. Constantly showered by loud boos throughout from the home fans, Lovren appeared slightly nervous and shaky as he felt the pressure early on, earning himself a clumsy booking and almost giving away a penalty in the first half, which he got away with. After the interval he was much more assured, winning headers, making several well timed tackles and clearing his lines to help keep a clean sheet. It’s good to see him turn in a positive performance for the full 90 minutes.
Martin Skrtel – 8/10
Other than one moment when his miscommunication with Lovren ended up in both of them misjudging a long ball to let Elia through on goal, Skrtel had a fantastic match at the back. He was a rock from start to finish, constantly winning vital headers against the aerial presence of Graziano Pelle, ensuring that Southampton’s considerable periods of pressure didn’t lead to anything. Top class stuff from the Slovakian.
Emre Can – 7/10
Much like Lovren, Can had a nervy moment in the first half, as he almost conceded a penalty, which admittedly would have been harsh, inside the first 30 seconds as he got on the wrong side of Djuricic who went down too easily. After that early scare, Can grew into the game, functioning on the left hand side of the back three for a change, which he coped with seamlessly. On several occasions he showed tremendous strength to win back possession, and as usual he brought the ball out of defence with typical style.
Jordon Ibe – 8/10
Source: liverpoolfc.com
It’s incredible to see the consistent impact Ibe is making in the first team at Liverpool. He hasn’t had one performance which hasn’t been very impressive. He was a menace going forward, breaking into space down the right hand side in the first half, although one or two times he ran into trouble and lost possession when he could have passed earlier. However, the most pleasing aspect of Ibe’s performance was his defensive discipline. In the second half, he played almost as an orthodox right back at times, ensuring Eljero Elia couldn’t penetrate out wide. The degree of responsibility he exhibits for a 19 year old is outstanding.
Joe Allen – 6/10
This was a game of two halves for Allen. In the first 45 minutes he looked very much off the pace and physically not up to the task of competing with Southampton’s muscular midfield, as Liverpool struggled to get hold of possession. However, after the break he was vastly improved, getting more stuck in and making a few very timely interceptions to break up play.
Jordan Henderson – 7/10
In a first half which was largely frantic and far too open from Liverpool’s perspective, Henderson was a steady island of calm in the middle of the pitch, distributing the ball out wide with accuracy, and tracking back regularly to regain possession whenever he could. In the second half his fitness was telling as others around him tired. Henderson kept on running, keeping things ticking and breaking forward with purpose towards the end. A good, hard shift from the captain on the day.
Lazar Markovic – 5/10
Having been unavailable for the Besiktas tie in midweek, Markovic appeared somewhat out of sync with his team mates today. In comparison with Ibe, he didn’t track back often enough, leaving far too much room for the marauding Nathaniel Clyne. He also gave away a couple of fouls in dangerous areas. However, he did provide the assist for Coutinho’s goal with an accurate pass infield, before being replaced for the more defensively capable Alberto Moreno.
Adam Lallana – 5/10
Along with Lovren, Lallana endured jeers from the home fans throughout the match and seemed to feel the effect of this as it was reflected in his below par performance. Aside from a few clever touches and slick passing moves, Lallana struggled to exert a significant influence on proceedings before being replaced by Sturridge with 30 minutes to go.
Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Coutinho opened the scoring with a spectacular strike, collecting Markovic’ pass before unleashing a 30 yard screamer in off the cross bar. Aside from this terrific effort, Coutinho proved elusive throughout, despite his passing being slightly off target several times. His physicality and pressing were evident as he worked extremely hard without the ball, exemplifying the team ethic that Rodgers demands from this group of players.
Raheem Sterling – 7/10
Sterling endured a frustrating first half, constantly chasing the ball without having much opportunity to use the ball himself as he was starved of service, playing as a lone striker. However, his persistent effort paid off eventually as he was on hand to anticipate the loose ball inside the penalty box to slot home the crucial second goal to secure the 3 points, taking his goal tally into double figures for the season.
Substitutes
Alberto Moreno – 8/10
Moreno replaced Markovic at half time to add defensive balance to the side. He produced a really professional performance and looked like a genuinely experienced player, nullifying Nathaniel Clyne’s forward bursts which caused trouble in the first half, whilst getting forward to support the attack. He also had a hand in the second goal as it was his ball which eventually found its way to Sterling after Southampton’s failure to clear their lines.
Daniel Sturridge – 6/10
Sturridge replaced Lallana for the last half an hour. Whilst he’s clearly not up to his top level yet, he showed several moments of wonderful skill. His shooting was tame on occasion, although he did provide more impetus up front and he will have benefited from an hour’s rest following a significant amount of minutes under his belt recently after his comeback.
Glen Johnson – N/A
Johnson replaced Ibe for the final 15 minutes, helping to see the game out by holding his defensive position at right wing back and making some solid challenges to ensure Liverpool gave nothing away late on.
Red Regista
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