Southampton 1 Liverpool 2: Late Joel Matip winner takes Premier League title race with Man City to dramatic final day
BILL SHANKLY used to say that Merseyside had two great football teams – Liverpool and Liverpool reserves.
Jurgen Klopp tested out that theory in the heat of a title battle and it turned out that the old Scottish Godfather of Anfield was right all along.
And especially given the almighty mess Everton currently find themselves in.
Klopp made nine changes to the starting line-up from Saturday’s FA Cup Final triumph, yet his stiffs did the business – coming from behind to defeat Southampton and keep the title race properly alive going into Sunday’s climax.
The Reds still need Manchester City to slip up against Aston Villa – Steven Gerrard’s Villa, of course – while Klopp’s men must do the business at home to Wolves.
But even though Liverpool now boast serious squad depth, and even though Klopp would have had an army of sports scientists telling him his players were in the ‘red zone’ – which means they are tired, but scientifically so – this was a serious gamble.
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And as usual with Klopp it paid off, as Takumi Minamino and Joel Matip netted to leave Liverpool’s quadruple-chasers just a point behind Pep Guardiola’s champions.
The Anfield chief trusts his squad and even those frustrated by a lack of regular football are prepared to bust a gut for the German.
Klopp had complained about the scheduling of this fixture – although not so much about the TV money that pays the bulk of his salary – just 72 hours after Liverpool had won the Cup after extra-time and penalties.
But it was still a shock that he made such sweeping changes, even given the injuries which forced Mo Salah and Virgil Van Dijk to withdraw at Wembley.
Had he given up the ghost, even though City had been held to a draw at West Ham?
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Still, he sent out a team which, man for man, looked stronger than Southampton’s.
And despite a peachy early opener from Nathan Redmond, that was the way it played out with Liverpool utterly dominating possession and fashioning enough chances to see them over the line.
Ralph Hassenhuttl’s team had one just once in 11 games but that Liverpool team-sheet seemed to make their eyes light up early on.
Armando Broja burst through early on and was thwarted by Alisson’s legs.
But on 13 minutes, Hassenhuttl’s men were in front.
Diogo Jota was dispossessed by Lyanco on the edge of the Saints box and Nathan Tella fed Redmond, who darted past two defenders as he cut in from the left and curled one, from distance into the far corner of the net.
The one-cap England winger hadn’t scored in more than a year – but you wouldn’t have guessed it from that strike.
Redmond was once on the receiving end of a famous on-field rant from Guardiola, who urged him to play with more confidence after Saints had fallen to a late defeat at the Etihad in 2017.
Five years later, it finally seemed as if that pep-talk might be paying off for Guardiola.
Liverpool soon had the ball in the net when Roberto Firmino headed in from a free-kick but he and two team-mates were offside.
Still, Klopp’s understudies were dominating the ball and it didn’t take long for them to find the equaliser – with a high-quality finish too.
Joe Gomez centred from the right, Jota laid it off neatly and Minamino, who’d had an underwhelming loan spell at St Mary’s last term, lashed it into the roof of the net, beating Alex McCarthy at his near post.
This seemed to wind the Saints but while Liverpool moved the ball around sweetly they did not threaten much before the break.
In first-half injury-time, Gomez – who has had some dreadful luck with injuries – fell awkwardly and appeared to injure his knee.
Jordan Henderson replaced him at half-time, James Milner switching to right-back.
The 36-year-old veteran was now on the same flank as teenager Harvey Elliott. Milner had made his Premier League debut before the former Fulham kid was born.
Straight after the restart, Jota shot wide across goal but then Milner made a cynical foul on Broja and was spared an obvious yellow card – just as in Saturday’s Cup Final – due to the obscure sub-section of the laws which state that you can’t book a national treasure.
Elliott shot into the side-netting from a cute Firmino pass and the visitors were building up a head of steam.
And midway through the second half, their pressure told. Kostas Tsimikas delivered the corner, Mohamed Elyounoussi could only nod it into the danger zone, where Matip and Kyle Walker-Peters almost connected simultaneously, the ball looping past McCarthy.
If there was a freakish element to the decisive goal, there was nothing freakish about the scoreline.
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Guardiola would not have been impressed with Southampton’s lack of ambition – and may have wished to run on the pitch and give them all a Redmond-style blast after the final whistle.
Because City must now hold their nerve on Sunday afternoon – because, sure as hell, a well-rested Liverpool will not bottle their half of the bargain.