Salah shines to help Liverpool return to the top of the Premier League
Liverpool struggled away at Southampton, but Mohamed Salah's moment of brilliance helped Juergen Klopp's side claim all three points and return to the top.
The Kop entered the match against Southampton with the ambition of winning all 3 points to return to the top of the table and put pressure on Manchester City, who will play later.
Liverpool fielded their strongest lineup with the attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian striker was under the most pressure after failing to score in the previous 6 consecutive matches. However, in the 90 minutes before Southampton, Mohamed Salah was seen as the savior of The Kop.
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| Southampton took the lead in the 9th minute. Photo: Getty Images. |
Home team Southampton unexpectedly took the lead in the 9th minute with a goal from Shane Long. In this situation, Liverpool's defense made a serious mistake when they abandoned the experienced striker of the home team.
Conceding an early goal, Liverpool pressed forward to find an equalizer and got the result at the end of the first half. In the 38th minute, the continuous attacks on both sides were completed by Naby Keita's precise header in the penalty area. This was also the Guinean midfielder's first goal for Liverpool since joining the Anfield team in the summer of 2018.
In the second half, Liverpool was in a real deadlock when Southampton implemented a very annoying defensive counter-attacking tactic. If the match ended in a draw, Liverpool would have given the championship to Man City. However, at the most difficult moment, Mohamed Salah spoke up.
In the 80th minute, the Egyptian striker received the ball in an open position in his own half. Salah dribbled the ball more than 30 meters before finishing skillfully to beat the Southampton goalkeeper to put Liverpool up 2-1. For Salah personally, this was his 50th goal for Liverpool in the Premier League and his 18th goal this season.
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| However, Salah spoke up at the right time to bring 3 points to Liverpool. Photo: Getty Images. |
Six minutes after Salah put his name on the scoreboard, captain Jordan Henderson sealed the score at 3-1 for Liverpool with a close-range tap-in from Roberto Firmino's cross. Winning 3-1, Liverpool returned to the top spot with 82 points, 2 points more than Man City but having played 1 more game.
Man City will not play this weekend so Liverpool will be top of the table for at least a week when Man City face Crystal Palace on April 13. That same day, Liverpool will face Chelsea at Anfield.
