Southampton fans teased Liverpool supporters during their Premier League meeting on Tuesday night following in Reds’ recent booing of the national anthem.
Ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, where Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes, Liverpool fans booed when the national anthem was played and live images of Prince William were being shown. Asked about the incident at the weekend, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp felt that it was “not something he enjoyed” although he did defend the supporters who booed during both Abide With Me’ and ‘God Save the Queen.’
Given the recency of the events, Southampton fans teased the away supporters at St Mary’s during the Premier League meeting on Tuesday night. Saints took a surprise lead in the first half when Nathan Redmond’s long-range shot deflected off James Milner before going in past Alisson to put Saints ahead.
After the opening goal from the hosts, the home fans started to sing the national anthem in a bid to wind up the travelling away fans in Hampshire, with the stadium also playing the Sex Pistols' rendition of 'God Save the Queen' at half-time. Liverpool were to have the last laugh however. Goals either side of the break from former Southampton loanee Takumi Minamino and defender Joel Matip secured a 2-1 win and moved Liverpool to within a point of league leaders Manchester City heading into the final day of the season on Sunday.
Liverpool had been hoping to complete an unprecedented quadruple this season after penalty shootout wins in the both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup finals against Chelsea this term. However, to win the Premier League on Sunday, they must beat Wolverhampton Wanderers and hope that Man City drop points against Aston Villa, managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.
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Liverpool are also in this season’s Champions League final against Real Madrid later this month in Paris, France. They reached the final of the competition for the third time in five seasons after beating Real’s Spanish rivals Villarreal in the semi-finals.
Speaking on the win over Southampton, Klopp was proud of the players who played, with the German boss making nine changes from the FA Cup final win going into the game.
“I couldn’t be more proud, I told the boys already and it’s absolutely special,” Klopp said after the win. “Players who have not played for weeks, if not months, delivered tonight like crazy.
“Takumi Minamino, [the fact] that he doesn’t play more often is a crime to be honest. Harvey Elliott was really unbelievable, Curtis Jones, that was a mature performance.”
Despite struggling for minutes this season, former Saints and current Liverpool winger Minamino has had a prolific campaign in front of goal. The Japanese international has scored ten times in 24 appearances in all competitions this term.
While at Southampton, Minamino played ten times for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in the second half of the 2020/21 season, scoring twice in games against Newcastle United and Chelsea.
