Liverpool ensured the Premier League title-race would be decided on the last day of the season after coming from behind to beat Southampton on Tuesday night.
Nathan Redmond scored an early stunner for the Saints, only for Takumi Minamino, who was one of nine changes following last weekend’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea, to level the scores against his former loan club. Joel Matip then clinched the win with a looping header from a corner midway through the second half as the Reds ran out 2-1 victors to move a point behind Man City in the table with one game left to play.
And with Liverpool eyes focused on just getting the job against Southampton to keep their Premier League title hopes alive, here are some of the moments that might have gone under the radar at St. Mary's.
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Wet, wet, wet
Liverpool fans travelling to Southampton would have been greeted by rather strange weather conditions on the south coast, with a particularly warm evening despite torrential rain bucketing down in the pre-match build-up.
With Sky Sports airing the game live at St. Mary’s, presenter Kelly Cates was interviewing pundits Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp on the pitch when the heavens suddenly opened. Fortunately for the trio, Sky had umbrellas at the ready which they could retrieve.
But it did result in the trio getting rather wet as they waited in the meantime, with Carragher continually looking off-camera before taking advantage of a brief spell off-air to jog over and gratefully accept three umbrellas from the waiting staff-member.
Saints ‘protest’ against Reds stance
Plenty has been said about Liverpool supporters’ booing of the national anthem at Saturday’s FA Cup final, with Jurgen Klopp’s response rather well thought out compared to plenty of others, namely one national newspaper front page and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own reaction.
Perhaps it was no surprise that Southampton didn’t take too kindly to the Reds’ stance and they made their feelings known at St. Mary’s by briefly singing the national anthem early on, while it was hardly subtle that the Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’ was played over the tannoys at half-time.
Meanwhile, as Liverpool fans spent stoppage-time singing, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, it took the home support little time to start booing the Reds’ own anthem. Whether Wolves’ fans carry this on at Anfield on Sunday, only time will tell.
It appears easier to react with outrage than just think. As Klopp put it so eloquently at his pre-match press conference on Monday, “It’s always better to ask the question, “Why does it happen?” I know our people that well that they wouldn’t do it if there was no reason for it.”
Gomez concern
While it was a relatively straight-forward victory for Liverpool at St. Mary’s, despite falling behind, there was one downer on the Reds’ win after they lost Joe Gomez to injury just before half-time.
Following a coming-together with Mohammed Salisu, with the Southampton man landing on top of the England international, the Liverpool defender was in clear pain on the floor as play was stopped so he could receive treatment on the pitch. Belatedly getting back to his feet, he limped off for the final moments off the half before slowly trudging across the pitch following the half-time whistle.
Given his past with serious injuries, with the most recent being last year’s season-ending ACL injury, his team-mates were understandably concerned at seeing the 24-year-old go down, with James Milner, Harvey Elliott, Roberto Firmino and Ibrahima Konate all jogging over to check on him as he received treatment.
Meanwhile, Alisson Becker stayed out briefly following the half-time whistle, making sure he was the last Reds player to leave the pitch as he waited for his team-mate, putting an arm around Gomez to console him before jogging off down the tunnel for Klopp’s team talk, with substitutes Thiago Alcantara and Andy Robertson then stepping in to check in on the defender.
The Liverpool boss has continually spoken about the camaraderie in his squad and how it has been so crucial to their success this season, with that again clear on the south coast following Gomez’s setback. Klopp hoped the injury was nothing serious when speaking after the final whistle, but now the defender faces an anxious wait to see if he will be fit for the Champions League final.
Klopp’s non-celebration
With the title-race on a knife edge, you could forgive Jurgen Klopp for feeling particularly tense at St. Mary’s. Normally so passionate on the sidelines, he actually barely celebrated either Liverpool goal as they came from behind to win against Southampton.
Even though the title will go down to the last day, the German has publicly admitted he would be surprised if City dropped points at home to Aston Villa to hand his side the title. And considering the nine changes he made vs the Saints, while he’s not waving the white flag, it’s clear he’s prioritising the Champions League final.
So rather than race up the sideline celebrating wildly at what could still prove to be a monumental win for the Reds’ title hopes, the German instead stood still and waited before asking fourth official David Coote, “Is it a goal?”
Of course, it could also be a complete lack of faith in officiating, aware that any moment of joy can be stolen away by VAR. He did at least allow himself some celebrations at the end though, doing his usual fist bumps in front of the travelling Liverpool fans as he celebrated yet another win.
“ORIGI!”
Divock Origi is a Liverpool cult-hero. Given the number of crucial goals he has scored during his time with the Reds, how could he not be?
Yet, given his bit-part status at Anfield, it would seem his Liverpool career is coming to an end with his contract set to expire this summer. The Belgian was brought on in the second half as the Reds chased a winner for what looks set to be one of the final appearances of his time with the club.
And he very nearly marked it with a goal, heading over from a corner moments after joining the action. Yet he made an impact on one home supporter even before taking to the field, while warming up in the first half.
Positioned to the left of the press box, a solitary Saints fan spotted the striker bending over in front of him and started shouting, “Origi! repeatedly for some unknown reason. That was it. No witty follow-up, no insult. Nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps it’s not just at Anfield where the Belgian has his admirers.
