Southampton v Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened
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http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/feb/22/southampton-v-liverpool-premier-league-live Version 0 of 1. 6.16pm GMT18:16 Super result for Liverpool, who are now unbeaten in 10, just two points off fourth place and one point behind Southampton in fifth. The wind seems to be with them. They scored early, and thrillingly through Coutinho and offered little more until the last 20 minutes – but didn’t allow Southampton too much encouragement save for a couple of first-half flurries and showed a heartening aptitude for what Rodgers would probably term “game management”. Not so super for the not-so-super Saints. It’s now three home games without a goal for them, and the verve and ideas that have characterised most of their season seem absent. There is a bit of a tiredness about their play and the lack of a real Plan B. You can’t help but think Pelle needs a bit of a rest up top, but there is not really a credible alternative on the books. That said, they had a couple of decent chances in the first half – and.... ....Yes, the elephant in the room cannot be ignored. If Can had been sent off after that tussle with Djuricic inside the first half-minute, and a penalty awarded, it would all have been very different. Kevin Friend opted against it, and even now it’s one that could be debated either way. Was there enough contact to send Djuricic down? Is that even relevant, if there was even the slightest bit of contact? What’s for sure is that, moments after Coutinho’s goal, there should have been a spot kick for Allen’s foul on Djuricic. That, from a litany of controversial calls in the first 45 minutes, is the one that was glaringly wrong in hindsight. But there we go; the result pretty much mirrored both teams’ strengths at the moment. And it concludes today’s Premier League action – thanks a lot for your company, and we’ll speak again soon. ‘Night. 6.06pm GMT18:06 Full-time: Southampton 0-2 Liverpool There you have it. 6.05pm GMT18:05 90+3 min: We’re nearly done now. The stadium is emptying. 6.04pm GMT18:04 90+2 min: And he has a third go, this time from much further out, that Forster saves with ease. 6.03pm GMT18:03 90+1 min: Sturridge has another go, this time deep inside the area on the right. It’s deflected for a corner. 6.03pm GMT18:03 90 min: Tadic’s free-kick is deflected and Liverpool can’t get the ball clear for a while. It ends up coming in towards Schneiderlin, who sets up a flamboyant overhead kick that gives Mignolet little trouble. 6.01pm GMT18:01 89 min: Mane has been lively and is, again, fouled just outside the area. This time Allen, a lucky boy earlier of course, is the culprit. 5.59pm GMT17:59 87 min: A third shot for Liverpool! Sturridge cuts inside on his right foot and things open up a little, but Forster dives onto his effort. That’s his first save of the game. Updated at 5.59pm GMT 5.58pm GMT17:58 If a shot from an LFC player hits the Southampton left-back instead of going towards goal is that classed as a shot on-Targett & off-target? 5.57pm GMT17:57 85 min: Tadic’s delivery is fine, but cleared. Time running out now. Updated at 5.57pm GMT 5.56pm GMT17:56 84 min: Seems to be his shoulder, but looks like he’ll be okay. Now Elia wins a free-kick from Henderson, who is booked, out on the left. 5.55pm GMT17:55 83 min: Huff and puff from the home side, but an injury to Glen Johnson now. He’s hurt something after tackling Elia. 5.53pm GMT17:53 81 min: Can concedes possession to Wanyama but the through-ball towards Mane is rushed, like quite a bit of the home side’s work, and harmless. 5.50pm GMT17:50 79 min: Tadic sizes it up – it’s actually about 25 yards out – and it’s a decent effort, cracked through the wall and well grabbed by Mignolet. Updated at 5.51pm GMT 5.49pm GMT17:49 77 min: Moreno scythes Mane down just outside the box and is yellow-carded. Chance here.... 5.49pm GMT17:49 77 min: So it looks as if Liverpool’s superb run is about to continue, unless Southampton can pull a bit of a Spurs here. Pelle shoots just inside the box but Coutinho blocks it – not with his hand, despite the crowd’s cries. 5.48pm GMT17:48 76 min: Two subs, now. Glen Johnson on for Ibe, and Dusan Tadic on for compatriot Djuricic. 5.47pm GMT17:47 74 min: So, the goal. A poor Schneiderlin ball in midfield is seized upon by Moreno, who plays a give and go with Sterling and is in the clear down the left. Instead of shooting he elects to centre, which seems an iffy decision until Targett, in attempting to clear, slips and can only put the ball right in front of Sterling. He sweeps it in, and Liverpool have been clinical where it counts. Updated at 5.48pm GMT 5.45pm GMT17:45 Goal! Southampton 0-2 Liverpool (Sterling 73) I think that’s two shots, two goals. Updated at 5.58pm GMT 5.45pm GMT17:45 73 min: Matt Dony on Liverpool – “This is the polar opposite of last season’s Liverpool. Last year, the attacking was unrelenting and thrilling, but the defence was appalling. Here, the attacking simply hasn’t happened, but, potential penalties apart, I’d say the defending has been impressive. Yes, they’ve been helped by some odd choices made by Southampton players, but Skrtel has rarely looked so assured. He’s won almost everything.” 5.44pm GMT17:44 72 min: Very nice from Sturridge, who weaves past Fonte but is thwarted before he can shoot. Liverpool have improved going forwards since his introduction, although that is saying little. 5.42pm GMT17:42 70 min: Oh dear. Schneiderlin takes a run-up, and then surprises everyone by sliding a pass down the right-hand side of the ball and towards Djuricic. Unfortunately it surprises Djuricic too, and goes out for a goal kick. 5.41pm GMT17:41 69 min: Yoshida intercepts very well in midfield and finds Elia, who dithers and is dispossessed. Elia has had a fairly dithery kind of game. Then Mane is brought down by Henderson in a central area, 25 or so yards out... 5.38pm GMT17:38 66 min: Moreno overlaps on the left and drills in a cross, which Henderson gets a foot to. It balloons into the air. Could we, generously, call that Liverpool’s second shot? 5.37pm GMT17:37 65 min: Nearly a sight of goal for Mane, who is just snuffed out by Lovren as he scampers onto a flick into the box. 5.36pm GMT17:36 64 min: Wanyama is yellow-carded for a foul on Sterling. He may have got some of the ball. 5.35pm GMT17:35 63 min: Here is Sturridge. On he comes for the fairly invisible Lallana, who is roundly booed off of course. Liverpool have shown absolutely no attacking thrust here since that early goal. Will that now change? 5.33pm GMT17:33 61 min: Elia does cross, now, but it’s overhit. Saint showing precious little quality but you do wonder whether Liverpool could usefully get themselves on the front foot. And talking of which, Sturridge is being readied... 5.32pm GMT17:32 60 min: So much indecision on view here. Now Elia tricks away down the left but can’t make a call on whether or not to cross. He’s robbed, but a second or two later Mane controls and spins in the box and sees a shot blocked for a corner, which Skrtel heads away. 5.30pm GMT17:30 58 min: Mane hares down towards the byline with his first involvement, but Can does well to dispossess him. Then Ibe goes on a run on the opposite flank but can’t really get anywhere either. 5.29pm GMT17:29 57 min: Lovren and Targett challenge for a bal by the corner flag, both bravely, and a goal kick is given. Then Sadio Mane replaces the off-colour Ward-Prowse, which will hopefully perk things up a bit. I think he’ll slot in on the right, with Djuricic moving centrally. 5.27pm GMT17:27 55 min: There’s just no real rhythm to this game at all, when you strip the talking points away. 5.25pm GMT17:25 53 min: Henderson fouls Wanyama but hurts himself. He’s not very happy with Friend, but gets up and runs away, grumbling. Ward-Prowse takes a poor set-piece, not for the first or second time. 5.24pm GMT17:24 52 min: Sterling spins his marker but can’t find anyone with his pass. Quiet so far today, the forward. 5.23pm GMT17:23 51 min: Pelle snatches a shot wide after a lovely little move. He had a couple of men over, it seemed to be five on four for a moment there, and should probably have passed. Updated at 5.34pm GMT 5.22pm GMT17:22 50 min: ...which is headed away at the near post. Strongish start by the home team though. 5.21pm GMT17:21 49 min: Schneiderlin is already getting well involved, directing traffic and the like. And now Clyne wins a corner.... 5.20pm GMT17:20 48 min: Elia is onside as he gets onto another ball through but he’s held up by Skrtel. He still wriggles away on the right but his cross is nowhere near Pelle. Updated at 5.40pm GMT 5.19pm GMT17:19 47 min: From Michael Cosgrove – “In my mind’s eye I can see one particular top PL manager who is rubbing his hands with glee as he reads this MBM because the penalty decisions are adding grist to his mill....” As I’m sure all top PL managers are reading this, you’ll have to be more specific. 5.18pm GMT17:18 46 min: A Liverpool change too, Alberto Moreno replacing Markovic. Which seems sensible, as the out-of-position Serb got a roasting or two in the first half. 5.17pm GMT17:17 Peeeep! Second half begins Maybe a football match will break out. 5.17pm GMT17:17 Yes, Schneiderlin replaces Steven Davis. Second half on its way... 5.16pm GMT17:16 Schneiderlin is coming on for Southampton. 5.13pm GMT17:13 An email about the football! The actual football! From Paul Ewart: “We [Liverpool] miss Lucas! All semblance of control disappears in his absence. Surely the most underrated player on the books having spent what seem like half his career doing the running for others. Dejan Lovren is a liability. The Saints should be glad we took him off their hands. It must be Kolo time......” Updated at 5.13pm GMT 5.11pm GMT17:11 Paul Turp says: “I reckon the commentators and boo-happy Soton crowd have made this seem far more controversial than it is. Second penalty claim for Soton was penalty, apart from that don’t think there’s been much untoward.” Not an unconvincing argument, it must be said. 5.10pm GMT17:10 On the Mignolet incident, he was just outside the box and the ball came off his chest, onto his hand. I think Friend got that one right but, again, seen them given. 5.05pm GMT17:05 Several emails saying that referees’ lots would be improved if they were able to publicly account for their calls. I can see that to an extent, but it might open a can of worms. 5.04pm GMT17:04 Strange half. A dizzying first four minutes. Should Djuricic have had a penalty from Can’s challenge, with the Liverpool player sent off? Possibly. Should Djuricic have had a penalty from Allen’s challenge? Surely. Later on, should Sterling have had a penalty from Fonte’s challenge? Possibly not. Did Mignolet handle outside the box? Inconclusive. Amid all that, Coutinho scored a wonderful goal for Liverpool and the home side had a couple of spells of pressure, especially right on half-time. It has not really been a good game, but there is definitely enough to keep you talking. 5.02pm GMT17:02 Half-time: Southampton 0-1 Liverpool Phew. 5.02pm GMT17:02 45+2 min: Saints ending the half strongly, Mignolet beating a shot through a crowded box away before flapping at the resulting cross. Updated at 5.02pm GMT 5.01pm GMT17:01 45+1 min: Then there’s a handball shout after a corner bounces around the Liverpool area. It did hit Lovren on the hand, but I don’t think you can give that one, it was by his side. 5.00pm GMT17:00 45 min: More controversy, and a big chance! Out of nowhere, Elia gets beyond the centre-backs and latches onto a long ball. Mignolet comes racing out of his goal and charges down the attempted lob....with his hand? Outside the box? Inconclusive. Updated at 5.29pm GMT 4.58pm GMT16:58 43 min: Ward-Prowse is chopped crudely by Lovren. This one is a foul and a yellow card. Lovren is being called rude things by the crowd again. 4.55pm GMT16:55 40 min: Targett can’t find Ward-Prowse and Liverpool counter quickly before a wayward Sterling touch checks their momentum. This has not, Coutinho’s goal aside and regardless of all the early drama, been a game of quality. 4.54pm GMT16:54 39 min: Now Ibe plays a weak ball towards Allen and the busy Djuricic gets onto it, but is crowded out as he tries to dribble into the area. 4.53pm GMT16:53 38 min: Skrtel reads an outside-of-the-foot Ward-Prowse ball well. Saints still not looking particularly like creating another clear chance, but they are dominating possession. 4.51pm GMT16:51 36 min: A replay from another angle shows Fonte getting some of the ball against Sterling. So perhaps we should not jump the gun there. 4.50pm GMT16:50 35 min: Targett, a tidy but not especially imposing young player, tricks his way past Lallana but then slips, which may be what Mr Friend considers some of the players are doing here – it’s quite wet. 4.48pm GMT16:48 32 min: And how does Friend not give Liverpool a penalty now? Sterling gets in down the inside left channel and checks back inside Fonte. The centre-back completely takes his leg away – confirmed by a replay – but nothing is given. It was the most obvious of the three shouts. Methinks Mr Friend may have some explaining to do after this. But at least he’s clearly not biased. Updated at 5.31pm GMT 4.46pm GMT16:46 31 min: Ward-Prowse barges Lallana over, the crowd’s delight giving way to the realisation that Friend has correctly deemed it a foul. Updated at 5.24pm GMT 4.45pm GMT16:45 30 min: Just a sign or two that the home side are coming back again now. They can rightly feel fuelled by a sense of injustice. 4.44pm GMT16:44 29 min: But the Saints do get a free-kick moments later, swung in from the right, and Mignolet doesn’t punch it away too convincingly. The ball ends up back with him soon enough though. 4.43pm GMT16:43 27 min: Now Can quite blatantly chops down the overlapping Clyne as he bursts down the right, but no free-kick is given. 4.41pm GMT16:41 26 min: Now they have a glimmer, Elia getting behind Markovic – who is course is never a left wing-back – but crossing into the stand. 4.40pm GMT16:40 25 min: Southampton having little joy at the moment. It’s mainly fruitless balls towards Pelle, who doesn’t seem to be getting as much support as he might like. 4.38pm GMT16:38 24 min: Brendan Rodgers is making some very elaborate hand signals. You sometimes think that absolutely everything he does is calculated to the Nth degree. 4.37pm GMT16:37 22 min: Coutinho and Sterling try to combine on the edge of the area, but it’s just a little too intricate and Fonte cleans up again. Saints’ early fire has been doused. 4.35pm GMT16:35 20 min: I’m getting lots of emails alleging refereeing bias. I’m not going to reproduce any of them, which means I am clearly biased too. Meantime, Liverpool in control for now and Markovic looks for Lallana, who has made a very clever run into the box. Fonte intercepts superbly, and crucially. 4.34pm GMT16:34 19 min: It’s been kind of lost in the penalty shouts, but let’s take a moment to remember just how good Coutinho’s goal was. Beautiful hit and you couldn’t really fault Forster for being beaten from range. 4.32pm GMT16:32 18 min: Lovren makes a positive contribution now, intercepting well as Davis tries to zip a ball behind the defence. Updated at 4.33pm GMT 4.30pm GMT16:30 15 min: Southampton win a corner on the left. Ward-Prowse takes an inswinger but Mignolet, who has started well and looks much more confident at the moment, claims it. 4.29pm GMT16:29 14 min: A Lovren pass that sails out of play gets the afternoon’s biggest cheer yet. And Mark Hammond is disgusted: “Have La Liga refs been counseling their British counterparts. That was absolutely shocking from Friend. P*ss-poor officiating is simply ruining the game. Time for cricket/rugby style TMO review surely.” 4.27pm GMT16:27 13 min: A stern missive from Michael Davey, who says – “Everything you need to know about English football: two clear penalties missed by the ref and the commentators act like it’s part of the ‘entertainment’.” Makes you think. 4.27pm GMT16:27 12 min: It goes beyond everyone. St Mary’s is not a happy place at the moment. 4.26pm GMT16:26 11 min: Nothing calm about that challenge from Markovic on Clyne though. Free-kick on the right of the area.... Updated at 5.21pm GMT 4.25pm GMT16:25 10 min: Things have calmed down a bit now, which is fairly welcome for those of us doing an MBM. Lallana and Lovren are both being dutifully booed when the ball reaches them. And Ibe has just got away down the right but crossed beyond everybody. 4.23pm GMT16:23 8 min: From Simon McMahon – “Insult to injury. A goal down, denied two penalties now, and should be a man up. If I didn’t know better I’d say there was a campaign against Southampton.” Ronald Koeman is on the phone to Goals on Sunday as we speak. 4.22pm GMT16:22 7 min: Hard to get the head round an absolute whirlwind of a first six minutes or so. In summary: Southampton appealed for a penalty in the first minute, which looked borderline and wasn’t given. Can would have had to go. Then Coutinho thrashed in the opening goal for Liverpool, before a clearer penalty shout at the other end was waved away too! 4.20pm GMT16:20 4 min: And another big penalty shout for the Saints! It’s Djuricic again, challenged by Allen, and this one looked like much more of a prospect. If Can didn’t really offer a challenge earlier, Allen certainly did this time and got it all wrong. But Friend waves play on and Elia has a great chance on the resulting loose ball but it’s deflected wide by Mignolet with a great save. What a start here! Updated at 5.19pm GMT 4.19pm GMT16:19 4 min: What a goal! Markovic, coming on from the left, plays the ball sideways to Coutinho 30 yards out. There’s little obvious danger but he’s given space to size up a shot and BANG! The ball swerves, dips and rockets in off the bar! 4.18pm GMT16:18 Goal! Southampton 0-1 Liverpool (Coutinho 3) A belter!! Updated at 4.46pm GMT 4.17pm GMT16:17 1 min: Big penalty shout for Southampton! And should Can have been sent off into the bargain? This came even earlier than Manchester City’s penalty yesterday – Djuricic ran into the box and across Can, and there seemed to be some contact. The Serbian went down, but Kevin Friend said no! Updated at 4.17pm GMT 4.15pm GMT16:15 Peeeep! Henderson and Coutinho get us underway. Strap in. 4.15pm GMT16:15 @NickAmes82 Very Surprised about sturridge not starting. Very disappointed Do you share this chap’s bemusement? Not sure I do, Sturridge played on Thursday and still needs handling with care after his injuries. 4.13pm GMT16:13 By the way, this is Djuricic’s first start for the Saints. The wide man is on loan from Benfica. Targett starts at left-back, with Ryan Bertrand still suspended. Their formation should be broadly a 4-2-3-1, while Liverpool will deploy their now-familiar 3-4-3. 4.12pm GMT16:12 Here we go, the teams are out. Big, big game this. Send me your thoughts if you like – nick.ames.casual@theguardian.com and @NickAmes82 4.08pm GMT16:08 “I’m a bit worried for him, from a Liverpool point of view, how he will perform,” says Jamie Carragher of Lallana. “He looks like an emotional boy.” 4.06pm GMT16:06 Apparently Adam Lallana is being called a few naughty things by Southampton fans as he warms up. It’s a shame, he had plenty of wonderful times there. Rickie Lambert is experiencing no such trouble. Clearly Lallana’s exit still rankles, and the player himself has a few regrets about the manner of it. 4.01pm GMT16:01 A lot of width on that pitch today when you consider the likes of Ibe, Djuricic and Elia. Pace and trickery all over. Who has the guile centrally to complement it? Liverpool, on paper, but if Pelle can show some of his early-season form for Southampton then you can’t imagine he’ll be short of service. 3.56pm GMT15:56 Full-time at Goodison, 2-2, so we can concentrate fully on this one now. We neutrals would probably take a third 2-2 humdinger of the day, wouldn’t we? I wonder if both sets of fans might too. A point would not be disastrous for either but I expect we’ll see a healthy amount of attacking intent at St Mary’s this afternoon. 3.42pm GMT15:42 Some more pre-match reading for you, in the form of Andy Hunter’s excellent look at the visiting ex-Saints contingent. It says everything about the trio’s fortunes that not one is guaranteed to face their former club. “They were brought in for the longer term so it was always going to take a bit of time,” Rodgers said this week. “They were brought in for different roles but they are all contributing, some more than others, but I am sure that over time they will show the worth of why we brought them in. It is a game they will look forward to.” 3.31pm GMT15:31 And, wow, Leicester are now in front at Goodison – Esteban Cambiasso. So yes, get thee to Michael’s commentary. 3.31pm GMT15:31 While I think of it, a reminder that Southampton v Liverpool kicks off at 4.15. Not 4. 3.30pm GMT15:30 Grandstand last 20 at Goodison in prospect, by the way, now that David Nugent has equalised for Leicester. Check out Michael Butler’s MBM. 3.27pm GMT15:27 For the Saints, three changes. Matt Targett, James Ward-Prowse and Filip Djuricic come in for Florin Gardos, Harrison Reed and Sadio Mane. Schneiderlin makes the bench. Updated at 4.11pm GMT 3.24pm GMT15:24 So Sturridge out, Sterling in for Liverpool. But Lovren’s start, his first in the league since the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford on 14 December, comes as a result of injury to Mamadou Sakho. 3.19pm GMT15:19 Southampton team #SaintsFC team vs @LFC: Forster, Clyne, Fonte (c), Yoshida, Targett, Wanyama, S. Davis, Ward-Prowse, Djuričić, Elia, Pellè. Subs: K. Davis, Gardos, Schneiderlin, Gardos, Long, Mané, Tadić, Reed. 3.18pm GMT15:18 Liverpool team – Lovren starts! Confirmed #LFC team v @SouthamptonFC: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Henderson, Allen, Markovic, Ibe, Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling Subs: Ward, Johnson, Toure, Lambert, Sturridge, Moreno, Balotelli 3.15pm GMT15:15 Hello – or hello again Match Three of today’s Premier League triple-header, now, and perhaps the most appetising one on paper. It’s also one that could tell us a lot about how the momentum in that Battle For Fourth is going, because these two are right in the thick of it. Liverpool are, after attracting predictable and at times wearisome derision earlier in the season, the division’s form horses. They’re unbeaten in nine league games and have won six of those, looking tidy and full of options going forward for the first time since Luis Suarez’s departure. It was always going to take time, and with Daniel Sturridge now back too there seems real hope that Brendan Rodgers and company have the tools to continue their renewed challenge for the Champions League spots. But they’ll have to overhaul Southampton, among others, if they are to do it. The Saints are fifth, although a win today would put them third on goal difference from Arsenal. It’s tight up there. Their last two home games have seen a stutter or two, losing 1-0 to Swansea and being held by 10-man West Ham, and you wonder if the force is starting to slip away from them. They need Morgan Schneiderlin back in that midfield and you wonder whether they could have done with some cover for Graziano Pelle, who understandably looks a little worn in his first Premier League season and has scored only one in his last 11, up top. They don’t really have it and you wonder if the likes of him and Dusan Tadic can find a second wind for the next few weeks. Be that as it may, those who love sub-plots, narrative and things of a similar ilk will doubtless be awaiting the returns to St Mary’s of Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert. And if that’s not enough – how’s that crazy penalty-snaffling fool Mario Balotelli going to enrage you today? He’s mad, him. Let’s see. 3.15pm GMT15:15 Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Paul Wilson on the match: Liverpool will be taking some familiar faces back to Southampton on Sunday after their summer shopping spree on the south coast, though much of the excitement around the club at the moment surrounds a player picked up from Wycombe Wanderers who is starting to make a name for himself in the first team. Jordon Ibe made just seven appearances for the Adams Park club, managing to become Wycombe’s youngest ever league debutant in the process, before being whisked off to Merseyside at the tender age of 16. Now 19, with the benefit of loan spells at Birmingham and Derby behind him, he is getting first-team football at Anfield and more than holding his own. Playing right-sided wing-back, it was Ibe who won the penalty that gave Liverpool the advantage over Besiktas last Thursday, on a night when the teenager’s confident mixture of pace, strength and trickery provided attacking adventure that few of his team-mates could match. Ibe was at Derby, enjoying working with Steve McClaren, when the call came from Brendan Rodgers in January. “At first I was told the loan was for the whole season, and I was happy with that because I was getting games, making new friends and learning a lot on the training ground,” Ibe says. “But because it was a youth loan there was always a chance it could be cut short early, and that’s what happened.Liverpool got in touch a couple of weeks earlier to say they would like me back, and they were just waiting for the transfer window. At that point I was thinking to myself it might not be worth coming back if I wasn’t going to play, but when the gaffer called me, he said: ‘Head back for the Aston Villa game.’ I got on as a late substitute and since then I’ve been starting in games. It’s really exciting. Just being asked back was a confidence booster but playing games and doing well makes me happy. I know I’m only just starting out and I still have a lot to learn but I am enjoying my football.” Read the full story here. |