Liverpool welcomed Southampton to Anfield in what was a crucial match for their top four hopes. After naming an unchanged team from the 1-0 victory against Watford at Vicarage road, Jürgen Klopp was expecting a routine win over a team they’re 28 points ahead of. However, Claude Puel and his players head other ideas.
Once again when their backs were against the wall, Klopp’s men failed to show any fight. The Reds stuttered their way to a 0-0 draw in front of a disappointed home crowd. The draw leaves Liverpool still in third place, only a point ahead of fourth-placed Manchester City.
Here are the five biggest talking points from the game.
#1 Divock Origi doesn’t warrant a starting place
When you have England’s most naturally gifted striker sitting on the bench, it’s a crime to start Divock Origi ahead of him. Daniel Sturridge is literally a loaded gun waiting to explode and Klopp has for some reason chosen to waste his talent.
Today in his 69 minutes, Origi attempted 0 shots on goal, created 0 chances and made not one pass in Southampton’s penalty box. Talk about effectiveness eh.
In stark contrast, when Sturridge came on he attempted two shots, completed six passes in the final third and created three chances. There is literally such a massive gulf in quality between the two. And the sooner Klopp realises this, the better it’ll be Liverpool’s top four hopes.
#2 Southampton will rue not being more offensive
After having only 35% possession, attempting four shots on goal and completing 78 attacking third passes, it’s safe to say Southampton didn’t attempt to win yesterday. Puel’s defensive mindset on the face of it rewarded Southampton a precious point but if you dig deeper, it may have held them back.
Liverpool were there for the taking today and on a different day, the Saints could have won at Anfield, again. In the EFL Cup they stole a 1-0 away win at Anfield, yesterday could have pretty much been the same.
As it stands, Southampton are only three points off the Europa League places and I’m sure Claude Puel will be sitting on the team coach regretting not going for the jugular against an inconsistent Liverpool team.
#3 James Milner misses a penalty at the worst possible time
There’s nothing like a free ticket in football but penalties are the closest thing to a giveaway. When you factor in James Milner’s incredible spot-kick record, the save from Fraser Forster becomes more emphatic.
Prior to this game, James Milner had only missed three penalties in his entire career, converting the 21 others. Now he’s missed four and it could cost his team automatic Champions League qualification.
The Englishman is almost guaranteed to score every penalty he lines up for, but alas, yesterday wasn’t his day and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for his manager.
#4 The Saints are resolute defensively
For the fourth consecutive time this season, Southampton have kept a clean sheet against Liverpool. Despite residing in the tenth place, Southampton have the eighth best defence in the league and they proved once again why they should be much higher up the table order.
In two banks of four with two forwards pressing, Southampton were able to tame the second best attack in the league through a cohesive system. Puel had his team closing of all passing lanes and marking all of Liverpool’s attackers, rendering them useless.
As a team, the Saints made 31 tackles, six last-ditch blocks, 17 headed clearances and 14 interceptions. Southampton truly gave us a lesson in low-block defending against a free-flowing attack. They were the epitome of organised defending and showed us how to nullify a fluid attack.
#5 Liverpool’s familiar struggles continue
Against bottom-half teams, Liverpool have only picked up 31 points out of a possible 57 - it’s simply not good enough. Out of those 19 games against lower table opposition, Liverpool have lost six and drawn three. This doesn’t make sense as their form against the teams in the upper table is simply stunning.
They’ve won seven and drawn five out of their 12 games with the top seven teams in the league, something doesn’t make sense, does it?
It makes the situation even more infuriating when the Liverpool gaffer blames the 0-0 draw on a ‘dry’ Anfield pitch. Laughable.
