ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool came from behind to beat Southampton largely thanks to two decisive Darwin Nunez moments. After a tough first half, Arne Slot made a triple change, with the Reds much-improved in the second.
Just before half-time, Will Smallbone poked Southampton in front when Virgil van Dijk attempted to shield the ball back for Alisson Becker. The Liverpool goalkeeper felt he had been fouled by Matheus Fernandes but Liverpool should simply have cleared its lines.
In the second half, the game changed. Nunez netted a good goal and then won a penalty which was converted by Mohamed Salah. From there, the Reds were always likely to see out the result and Salah’s second spot kick of the match made it 3-1 near the end. Here are the four things Liverpool.com spotted as the game unfolded.
Arne Slot move pays off
Arne Slot insisted that he would not change his Liverpool side for any other reason than to give a rest to those who need it, rather than taking the game anything less than 100 per cent seriously. The changes made — Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez — were predictable, but so too was Liverpool’s attack for the opening 45 minutes.
The lethargic performance may not have been down to the changes. While everyone at Anfield wanted to guard against complacency, a big week lies ahead. This was by far the most understated game of the run of three fixtures and psychologically, perhaps, Liverpool felt, even without knowing it, that it could win without having to be at full tilt.
In the end, it proved to be harder than that. Slot’s triple half-time change, bringing on Andy Robertson, Alexis Mac Allister, and Harvey Elliott, was the right call, and it paid off immediately. It was pretty clear that the Liverpool boss had dished out some hard words in the dressing room. Slot’s side emerged as a different team.
(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Darwin Nunez decisive
This was the first game that Nunez had started since Slot was critical of his performances off the bench against both Aston Villa and Southampton. “I wasn’t happy with his work effort, against Wolves and against Villa,” the Liverpool boss said in the aftermath of those showings.
“I always try to be honest with my players and be honest as I can to you guys as well where I always try to protect my players so I don’t say he never worked hard. I know him differently.
“I know him at Villa at home where he made a 100-meter sprint and scored a goal; I know him when he came on at City at home and was pressing really aggressively and wins the ball back, and we score. But I can’t accept if a player doesn’t give everything.”
Here, Nunez was all action. He defended well and got through plenty of running. More importantly, he scored the equalizer and then won the penalty that saw Liverpool move in front. Coming off to be replaced by Diogo Jota on around 68 minutes, he can be very pleased with how he made an impact. There was certainly no lack of confidence of influence here.
(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
A game of two halves
While it was undoubtedly the right decision to take off Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai for the second half because of how the game changed, it wasn’t a good sign for the former two.
Both are aiming to cement a position in the starting XI ahead of the run in, but were hooked when given a starting chance. Szoboszlai, given how well he has played lately, and how much running he has been doing, is a different case.
It could easily have been Luis Diaz who was taken off given he was poor in the first half but the Colombian stayed on and justified that decision. He got much better, as did Liverpool more generally. And before the hour mark the trajectory completely changed. In part, that was the subs. In part, it was simply that Liverpool woke up.
One cup final down… two to go
“I have to convince my players that we play three finals, like I said now a few times,” Slot said on Friday. “And I’m hoping that I influence our fans a bit as well, that they understand how important they are going to be (vs Southampton).”
Liverpool didn’t play like it was a final in the first half, but did more than enough to turn the result around in the second. The home crowd turned up too with plenty of support where it was required.
One cup final down. Two more to come in a massive week. While the Reds would never have admitted it publicly, this was comfortably the easiest — and on paper, the most straightforward of the season.
Perhaps that played into the lethargy of the opening 45 minutes. The bottom line is that there is now a 16-point gap at the top, with Slot having sent a big message to his players about the expected performance levels ahead of a huge double-header.
