Mohamed Salah fires Liverpool eight points clear as Southampton punished - 5 talking points
SOUTHAMPTON 2-3 LIVERPOOL: A brace from Mohamed Salah earned Arne Slot's side a dramatic late win against the Saints to send them eight points clear of defending champions Manchester City
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorArne Slot's Liverpool continued their excellent run of form as they beat Southampton 3-2 to take an eight point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Southampton made a decent start to the game, but they made a series of costly errors starting with a poor clearance from Flynn Downes that fell straight to Dominik Szoboszlai. The midfielder then promptly curled the ball into the top corner to give Liverpool the lead.
However, Southampton drew level on the stroke of half-time when Virgil van Dijk was caught in possession and Tyler Dibling was brought down by Andy Robertson. A penalty was initially given by referee Samuel Barrott and, while it was incredibly close to being outside of the box, VAR upheld the decision and Adam Armstrong scored after his initial effort was saved.
Matheus Fernandes then gave Southampton the lead in the second-half after an excellent counter-attack, but Mohamed Salah then popped up with an equaliser for Liverpool as he capitalised on another error from goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
Salah then scored the winner from the penalty spot after Yukinari Sugawara was penalised for handball. Mirror Football takes a look at the talking points to emerge from the match.
Liverpool's eight point lead
Liverpool now sit eight points clear of defending champions Manchester City after they beat Southampton 3-2, having watched Pep Guardiola's side get thrashed 4-0 by Tottenham on Saturday.
Very few were backing Liverpool to win the league at the start of the season, but with both City and Arsenal slipping up in recent weeks they have taken a significant lead over their rivals. There is still plenty of time for more twists and turns in the title race, but Liverpool will be feeling extremely confident after picking up another important win despite not being at their best.
In fact, only two clubs have won 10 of their opening league games like Liverpool have and failed to win the title. That was Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle in the 1995-96 campaign and Arsenal in the 2022-23 season and Liverpool will be keen to ensure they do not become the third club on that list.
Southampton punished
Southampton have really struggled since being promoted from the Championship last season and Russell Martin's side are facing a huge battle to try and stay up.
They were largely impressive against Liverpool, but they shot themselves in the foot twice with goalkeeper Alex McCarthy making some huge mistakes. McCarthy's decision to roll the ball out led to Flynn Downes' poor clearance for the first Liverpool goal, while he rushed off his line for the second and allowed Mohamed Salah to simply poke the ball past him.
They were also unfortunate to concede a late penalty for handball against Yukinari Sugawara and lost two players to injury with Adam Lallana and Paul Onuachu both forced off. Defeat to Liverpool means they have now become the eighth team in English top-flight history to lose 10 of their opening 12 games and the previous seven all went on to be relegated.
Dibling impresses
Although they suffered a dramatic defeat in the end, teenage winger Tyler Dibling was absolutely outstanding for Southampton.
The 18-year-old was electric, making an excellent run which drew Andrew Robertson into fouling him to win the penalty that Adam Armstrong eventually converted. He also played a starring role in Fernandes' goal, linking up well with Armstrong as Southampton produced a clinical counter-attack.
"The pass from Dibling was absolutely outstanding," Carragher said of the goal. "The composure from Armstrong as well was brilliant. What a lovely footballer Dibling is. He's been a real standout player alongside Fernandes."
Lallana's escape
Adam Lallana's game was cut short in the 37th minute after he was forced off with a hamstring injury, but his game could have ended much earlier.
The former Liverpool star escaped with just a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Ryan Gravenberch which he made after taking a heavy touch that saw him lose possession. However, Lallana could very easily have been sent off over the incident.
"He's not in control, he's not even looking at the ball," former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said on Sky Sports. "They've looked at the character of the player, he's not really a nasty type. Southampton have got away with one there. The more I look at it the worst it gets."
Penalty controversy
There was some controversy over the penalty Southampton were awarded, with it unclear as to whether Andrew Robertson's foul on Tyler Dibling was inside the box or not.
The referee initially pointed to the spot and a VAR review found that there was "no conclusive evidence" to overturn the decision. In a statement, the Premier League said: "The referee's call of penalty for the challenge by Robertson on Dibling is checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed there was no conclusive evidence that the contact occurred outside the penalty area."
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp added: "The last player you want running at you is Tyler Dibling. Andy Robertson gets his foot pattern wrong. Is it a penalty? It's debatable. It's hard to overturn, it's 100 per cent a foul and he gets so lucky Armstrong. He manages to just get it through his legs. It was self inflicted by Liverpool."
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