Liverpool 3-0 Southampton: Player Ratings 

Mauricio Pellegrino returned to his former club Liverpool in a bid to steady the Southampton ship as the Saints seem to be heading towards a relegation battle. However, it was not to be as Liverpool put in a dominant performance and ran away clear winners against a toothless Saints’ side that failed to put on a fight.

It was Mohamed Salah who scored the opening goal in the 31st minute before latching on to a perfectly weighted pass from Philippe Coutinho to score his side’s 2nd goal in the 41st minute.

Coutinho applied the finishing touches to a Roberto Firmino shot that was inadvertently parried into his path by Forster in the 68th minute to put the result of the game beyond doubt.

Here are the player ratings from the game:

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Liverpool

Liverpool picked up 3 crucial points last night

Simon Mignolet – 6/10

The Belgian shot-stopper had very little to do throughout the game as Liverpool were at their dominant best and the visitors on the evening failed to conjure up a single shot during the 90 minutes. Of course, there was a moment in the game when Mignolet had every Liverpool fan on the edge of their seats when he failed to clear early and almost had the ball taken off him in his 6-yard box.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10

The young English full-back put in another impressive performance as the right-back of the side and seems to be establishing himself as a fan favourite. While he did initially struggle against Boufal, especially with him often committing early, he made amends for his mistakes and was a stellar presence in defence while also providing the required width in attack.

Dejan Lovren – 7/10

Lovren returned to the starting line-up and was deployed as the right-centre-back of the side and showcased the good side of his game. He was generally superior in the air, did not let the likes of Charlie Austin and Shane Long get in behind the defence and kept the lines of communications with his goalkeeper and midfield intact to ensure a clean sheet for the Reds.

Ragnar Klavan – 7/10

The Estonian, who partnered Lovren on the evening put in a good performance and benefitted immensely from Southampton’s lack of enterprise down the left-flank. He covered up well for Moreno as the left-back bombed forward and did not afford any time and space to the Saints’ attackers to make inroads.

Alberto Moreno – 8/10

It was only a few months ago that Alberto Moreno was seen as a player on his way out of Anfield. On Saturday, the young Spanish full-back demonstrated why exactly he has been brought back into the side with a stellar all-round performance in defence as well as attack. He was a constant threat to the visitors down the left flank and did well to not afford the opposition any space to run into.

Jordan Henderson – 6/10

If there is one word that defines Henderson, it has to be safe. The Liverpool captain kept things safe while ensuring that he controlled the rhythm of the game from a deeper position while ensuring that he broke up the opposition’s rhythm frequently with a mix of tackles and interceptions.

However, we believe that with Southampton on the back foot, he could have been a little more enterprising going forward.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10

Is there any other player who loves playing at Anfield as much as Wijnaldum? The Dutch-man was a bundle of energy throughout the 90 minutes as he constantly broke forward and made himself available around the 18-yard box.

He linked up well with his other teammates, constantly stifled the Southampton midfield for time and space and was one of the brightest Liverpool players on the pitch.

Philippe Coutinho – 8/10

Coutinho was at his magical best against Southampton and orchestrated a perfect victory for his side.

The Brazilian magician is back to his best and was at his threatening best against the visitors. It was Coutinho, who created Liverpool’s 2nd goal of the evening with a perfectly weighted pass in the Southampton box and then capped up a brilliant evening by netting Liverpool’s 3rd with his final touch in the game.

He was dangerous whenever he got hold of the ball and his movement into empty spaces and past the opposition players constantly wreaked havoc in the Southampton camp.

Mohamed Salah – 9/10

When Liverpool paid big money to bring the Egyptian to the Merseyside, this is perhaps the kind of performance they would have expected from him. Salah was at his devastating best as he tore apart Mauricio Pellegrino’s defence with his movement on and off the ball.

While he did miss an easy chance in the first half, he made amends with a sublime effort from outside the box to beat the big burly Fraser Forster and then added a 2nd when he beat Southampton’s offside trap with a perfectly timed run.

Sadio Mane – 8/10

The Senegalese international faced his former club and while he began on a slow note, once he found his footing, he looked comfortable as he constantly troubled the opposition with his pace, deft movement, on and off the ball, as well as skill on the ball. He linked up excellently with the likes of Salah, Firmino and Wijnaldum and was a handful to deal with for the visitors.

Roberto Firmino – 8/10

His industry never ceases to amaze us as the Brazilian is perhaps one of the hardest working attackers the game has seen.

Firmino was exceptional yet again as he pressed from the top and linked up excellently with his midfield as well as his attacking colleagues. He was instrumental in Liverpool’s 3rd goal as Forster failed to deal appropriately with his shot from inside the box and Coutinho was available to parry home the rebound.

Substitutes:

Emre Can – 6/10

The German came on for Philippe Coutinho in the 69th minute and kept things steady through the next 20 minutes from a deep-lying position.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – NA

Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Sadio Mane with just over 15 minutes left in the game.

James Milner – NA

The Liverpool vice-captain came on for Mohamed Salah with the game all but wrapped up in the 80th minute, and had little to do.

Southampton

Southampton could be on course to fight a relegation battle

Fraser Forster – 6/10

The English shot-stopper had a tough evening as Liverpool were the better team and constantly threatened his goal. There was a nervy moment when the Englishman failed to deal appropriately with an awkward ball in the box and almost gifted Liverpool their opener.

However, there was very little he could have done for the first 2 goals as his defence failed to close down Salah appropriately.

Cedric Soares – 6/10

The Portuguese right-back began the evening well as he constantly looked to get forward in a bid to help his attacking colleagues pile on the pressure on the susceptible Liverpool defence. However, once Liverpool firmly had their foot in the game, the industrious Soares was largely restricted to his own half.

Wesley Hoedt – 5/10

Hoedt was certain to suffer against the pace of Mane and Salah. While he did make some vital tackles and clearances, there is no denying that the Dutch-man was at fault for Salah’s 2nd goal as he failed to track the run of the Egyptian and gifted him space to run into.

Virgil Van Dijk – 6/10

Van Dijk and co. were the 2nd best throughout the game as Liverpool's attack put them to sword

It was largely believed that this was a front row audition for the hierarchy at Liverpool to ascertain Van Dijk’s quality but the Dutchman himself would like to forget about the evening. While he was tidy with the ball at his feet, he had trouble dealing with Liverpool’s enterprise, especially with his partner Hoedt struggling.

With Southampton languishing in the 14th spot after this defeat, Van Dijk's time at the St. Mary’s might be coming to an end.

Ryan Bertrand – 7/10

Bertrand was perhaps the brightest of Southampton’s defenders on the evening as he put in an all-round performance. He constantly bombed forward in a bid to test the Liverpool defence and came very close to opening the scoring for the visitors with a free-kick that curled away from the goal at the very end.

Steven Davis – 6/10

With Liverpool running the show in the midfield, Steven Davis was largely restricted to defensive duties.

The Northern Irish midfielder made himself available in the midfield to cause Liverpool problems in the initial stages with his industry and made some vital tackles, interceptions and clearances to ensure that the scoreline remained respectable towards his side despite Liverpool’s pure dominance.

Oriol Romeu – 5/10

The former Chelsea midfielder had one of the toughest games of his life against the Reds. While he made constant tackles, interceptions, and clearances, he was not very successful at restricting the Reds.

The very fact that he won just 25% of the 12 tackles he attempted showcases how ineffective he was against the Reds and it reflected time and again, as the side’s central defenders were left exposed time and again.

Dusan Tadic – 5/10

It was the Serbian who gifted Liverpool their first goal when he had the ball pinched off him just outside his own box and thereafter, was largely restricted to a spectator’s role as he failed to receive adequate support from his teammates.

He created only 2 substantial goal scoring opportunities through the game. It was yet another game where Tadic went missing and if this continues, its time Southampton looked at other options.

Sofiane Boufal – 6/10

The Morrocan winger initially looked threatening against Alexander-Arnold but fizzled out with the passage of time. He failed to create any goal scoring opportunity during his time on the pitch and while he was constantly looking to get past the Liverpool defence, he found little joy as his attacking colleagues failed to adequately support him.

Nathan Redmond – 3/10

Redmond failed to have an impact on the game.

There was very little that we saw of the Englishman throughout the game as he failed to make an impact on the game. He failed to trouble the Liverpool defence and was largely a spectator as Liverpool ran away with the game.

Shane Long – 6/10

While he was at his industrious best yet again, Long failed to trouble the hosts’ defenders as his movement off the ball was well tracked. However, his efforts in his own half cannot have gone unnoticed as he was always available in midfield to help his teammates deal with Liverpool.

Substitutes:

Charlie Austin – 5/10

Austin came on for the ineffective Tadic in the 55th minute but proved to be equally ineffective against a side that seemed to be in cruise mode.

James Ward-Prowse – 4/10

The 23-year-old failed to make an impact on the game after coming on for Boufal in the 69th minute.

Manolo Gabbiadini – NA

The Italian had very little time to make an impact on the game.