Looking to make it 16 games unbeaten at home, Liverpool came up against a Southampton side off the back of a 2-1 loss against Norwich City. The ‘Reds’ got off to the perfect start in pursuit of extending that unbeaten run, scoring within two minutes. It was Diogo Jota with the goal, but most of the credit lies with Andrew Robertson, who broke in behind before cutting the ball back for his teammate to tap home for the fastest goal of the Premier League season so far.
The hosts didn’t have it all their own way, however, with Armando Broja’s one-on-one effort, forcing Alisson Becker to save from close-range in what was a warning sign for Liverpool. It turned out to be a chance they’d regret missing, too, with Jota netting his second of the game just moments later, tapping home from Mohamed Salah’s pass across the face of goal for Liverpool’s 700th goal under Jürgen Klopp. Two then became three in the 37th minute through Thiago Alcântara, who netted his second in as many games with a deflected effort past a helpless Alex McCarthy.
Having seen his side blown away in the first half, Ralph Hasenhüttl attempted to change things at the break by introducing Nathan Redmond and Nathan Tella. The changes did not make the desired difference, however, with Liverpool extending their lead with Virgil van Dijk’s first goal since returning from injury – a volleyed effort into the corner on the 52 minute mark. From there, Liverpool continued their control, with Jota coming closest to extending the lead from close range, skying his chance for a hat-trick. The ‘Reds’ cruised to victory to go second, one point off table-toppers Chelsea. Southampton, meanwhile, now sit 14th just five points away from the dreaded dropzone.
