Skrtel substitution for Lovren potentially ends 4th spot hopes of Champions League Football – Southampton 3 Liverpool 2

Blog by dedlfc (David Douglas)

Its now a couple of days since our dismal collapse at the hands of the Saints and I am still mystified as to how we threw away such a dominate position at half-time to lose the game.

Maybe the news of the team bus being delayed prior to the game affected our overall mindset – (clutching at straws I know!!!)

Our chances of reaching the Champions League through our league position has now effectively vanished after this astonishing result at St Mary’s. The substitution of Lovren for Skrtel by Klopp and Wanyama and Mane being brought on by Southampton manager Ronald Koeman completely turned this one sided game on its head.

The Mane substitution didn’t initially look that clever when he missed a penalty three minutes after coming on with a decent save from Mignolet but he had the final laugh with two vital goals to help secure the turnaround win for the Saints.

We had started the game with Jon Flanagan celebrating a new 3 year contract deal by being rewarded with the captaincy for the day – this seemed like a nice gesture by Klopp.

It looked like a chilly spring afternoon on the south coast as we were looking to register a fourth straight league win for the first time since March 2015. Klopp certainly bold with his starting line with Origi alongside Sturridge.

All three changes enforced with Henderson unable to train on Friday due to illness, Firmino hampered by a hamstring issue and Milner banned
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Joe Allen getting a rare start ahead of club captain Henderson.

All three of Liverpool’s former Southampton players - Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana - are all in the starting line-up for the Reds.

If memory recalls, then former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was a bit miffed after the league meeting here last season that some ex-Saints weren’t given the respect they merited on their return.

We were on the front foot from the start but had one initial scare when Lovren misjudged a high ball forward, Long burst away into the box and Lovren in trying to get back goalside, put an arm on Long’s shoulder and sent him tumbling in the area but the referee Roger East waved away the claims of the Saints players and fans for a penalty. At the time Lovren was the luckiest man in the South Coast because most days that’s a certain penalty in our league.

We took advantage of this with our team taking control with our little magician Coutinho at the forefront of everything positive we were doing.

GOAL!! 1-0 Coutinho ---What a lovely strike from Coutinho. He loves it here. This time he comes in off the left flank and 20 yards out curls one in with his right foot. Forster could have done better, but we won’t mind too much. Number nine for the season for our little magician. Big credit to Lallana for his part in the goal. He won the ball back on halfway and fed Coutinho out on the left.

GOAL!! 2-0 Sturridge --- This time Coutinho’s pass with the outside of his left foot sent Divock Origi scampering forward from the left. With Southampton’s defence back-pedalling, he showed awareness to tee up Sturridge, whose calm left footed finish was whipped past Forster.

Two goals should have become three in the 25th minute when a sweeping move involving Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Emre Can ended at the feet of Joe Allen but the Welshman shot straight at Forster.

Clasping his hands to head, Allen knew he should have ended the game as a contest and his mood did not improve when his 33rd-minute ‘goal’ was ruled out for offside. Harsh on Allen. Sakho was in an offside position and jumped over it but there was no chance Forster was getting that. It proved to ultimately be decisive.

Minutes later it again should have been 3-0. We break again, this time Allen releases Sturridge down the inside right but he goes too wide and his right shot from the angle was comfortable for Forster. Another fantastic opportunity wasted which would later come back to haunt us. 

Can and Allen have been outstanding so far. Complete control in midfield – After halftime all that was to change dramatically!

Koeman’s introduction of Mané – available for the match after Saints had appealed successfully against the red card he was shown in the victory away to Stoke City nine days ago – made an immediate difference.

Our manager Jürgen Klopp’s own introduction at the break of Martin Skrtel in favour of former Saint Dejan Lovren, who had been booked, was less successful, as Graziano Pelle dominated the Slovakian defender in the air and on the ground throughout the second half.

After 48 minutes referee East did award a penalty to Southampton when Skrtel pulled Pelle’s shirt. Mignolet dived to his right to save Mané’s kick, but if that was a blow to either Mané or the home side, it did not show, and after 64 minutes, Mané, played in by Pelle, twisted past Sakho and shot past Mignolet’s left hand.

Even then, we continued to make openings, but Christian Benteke scuffed the best one wide again through on goal he just doesn't have the clinical finish in these situations, and instead of 3-1 it was 2-2 after 83 minutes when Pelle won a long high ball against sloppy Skrtel, took a return pass from Long and smacked it past Mignolet’s right hand.

Three minutes later and the comeback was complete. Skrtel missed a header and Pelle played the ball through for Mané to hold off Sakho and roll a shot into the corner of the net as Koeman sprinted joyfully along the touchline (celebrations usually reserved for Klopp), showing more pace than he had in his playing days.

Southampton: Forster, Martina, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand, Steven Davis, Romeu(Ward-Prowse 69), Clasie (Wanyama 45), Tadic (Mane 45), Long, Pelle

Subs not used: Cedric, Yoshida, Juanmi, Stekelenburg

Booked: Mane 

Goals: Mane 64, 86, Pelle 83

Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren(Skrtel 45), Sakho, Flanagan, Lallana, Allen(Ojo 87)Can, Coutinho, Sturridge (Benteke 70),Origi. 

Subs not used: Toure, Henderson, Smith, Ward

Booked: Lovren, Can, Skrtel 

Goals: Coutinho 17, Sturridge 22

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)

Attendance: 31,596

Man of the match: Coutinho – in the first half he was outstanding again being instrumental in everything we were creating.

Positives – The chances created in the game on a normal day would be rewarded with a convincing win

Negatives – Not clinical enough with the chances costing us the vital game and ultimately the Klopp substitution decision of bringing on Skrtel and the 8^th one on one chance miss by Benteke has cost us again. Skrtel as mentioned by a fellow passionate red Fran is not good enough for our club and needs to be one of the first players out the door in the summer. His mistakes in the second half were shockingly poor and we need to put on end to this defensive disaster.

We need to now win every single league game left to qualify for the Champions League through the league spots – it is now highly unlikely so we should ensure we go all guns blazing for the Euro League route of qualifying for the Champions League.

Klopp’s after match comments:-“There are still 27 points to get, but we don’t have to dream of things like this,” Klopp said. “We have to play football and win games. If we play like we did in the first half we can win. If we play like in the second half it’s more difficult. “I’m not a good loser so I don’t feel brilliant, as you can imagine, but I’m not angry, I am frustrated that we got nothing for a very good first half,” he added, downplaying suggestions that Thursday’s Europa League tie away to Manchester United had left his players weary in that second half.

“It’s easy to count the games we had and the games Southampton had. Of course, there’s a difference, but it’s a football problem, nothing else – football mistakes and we can learn from them and we will. But for today it’s too late because we lost.”