Liverpool supervisor Arne Slot praised a “particular” contribution from Mohamed Salah after his two targets helped the crew get better from a aim right down to beat Southampton 3-2 and transfer eight factors clear on the high of the Premier League.
The league leaders had been heading for a shock defeat to the division’s backside facet when midfielder Mateus Fernandes swept Saints in entrance within the 56th minute, however Salah was readily available to show the sport round.
First he beat goalkeeper Alex McCarthy to a by way of ball from Ryan Gravenberch, then 10 minutes from time blasted the ball into the highest nook from the penalty spot following a unnecessary handball by Yukinari Sugawara.
Dominik Szoboszlai had taken benefit of horrible Southampton defending halfway by way of the primary half to twist his facet into the lead, however a penalty tucked house on the rebound by Adam Armstrong levelled issues earlier than the break to arrange a topsy-turvy second half.
In the end a telling intervention from Salah settled a blistering encounter.
“We all the time know we are able to belief him when issues are tough for us,” mentioned Slot. “After we went 2-1 down I didn’t actually really feel that that was the second we might rating.
“It was a improbable move from Ryan Gravenberch, however the timing of the run and the end was particular.
“That actually helped us again within the recreation, and we wanted that aim to play the final 25 minutes that we performed, as a result of for me then it was solely a matter of time till we scored.”
Liverpool have gained 10 of their first 12 Premier League video games underneath Slot making him simply the third supervisor within the competitors’s historical past to realize that feat, after Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.
It is going to be remembered as one of many extra hard-fought victories of his early tenure as Saints defied their predicament on the foot of the desk to show in a dedicated and at instances ferocious efficiency.
“We’re actually glad, particularly as a result of after an hour we had been 2-1 down and perhaps that wasn’t a mirrored image of how the primary hour went,” mentioned Slot.
“I feel we dominated the entire recreation, which isn’t that simple.
“I’ve seen many Southampton video games the place they’ve dominated the sport. However when you’re 2-1 down after an hour you’re perhaps over the moon when you win 3-2.
“We all know what we’ve to place into it to get the [eight-point] lead we’ve in the mean time and to get these wins.
“There have been one or two video games that had been wins by an enormous margin however the remaining had been small margins, so we all know how tough it’s to win a recreation.”
As so typically this season, Southampton set the traps for their very own downfall.
Three targets conceded, all of them in a roundabout way attributable to particular person errors in defence, although this was all of the more durable to bear for supervisor Russell Martin given how determinedly his crew had labored to get themselves in entrance.
“My overriding feeling is the frustration and disappointment of the targets we conceded, it’s simply so poor,” mentioned Martin.
“If [Liverpool] produce a second of magic or rating an excellent crew aim you possibly can perhaps settle for it, however the high quality of the targets we conceded is so unhealthy. So unhealthy.
“There was a lot I loved in regards to the efficiency, the menace was a lot better within the remaining third and the attacking menace we had.
“However we wanted to take the sting out of the sport and handle it.”
