Hasenhuttl hails Ward-Prowse-powered Saints
IN every title triumph, there are defining moments when the character of champions is forged. This felt emphatically like one. Throughout a frenzied, frantic contest, Liverpool abandoned virtually every discipline that has taken them to the top of the Premier League – but discovered reserves of spirit they never knew they had.
At the end, after what can only be described as 95 mad minutes, Jurgen Klopp charged on to the pitch, ran to the Kop and with face contorted in a mix of pain and pleasure, punched the air three times as he conducted the jubilant fans.
That’s how much it meant, that’s how important it could prove to be. Crystal Palace, you’ll remember, opened up the title race for the Reds with their thrilling 3-2 victory at Manchester City, and for much of this game looked as though they were going to close it down again.
For a side that had conceded 10 league goals all season before kick-off, Liverpool’s defending was woeful, and their reputation as a team that can grind out 1-0 victories was shredded.
They replaced it though, with something that could be even more valuable; a will to win that saw them through every mistake, every self-inflicted setback. And they rediscovered the threat from a fearsome front three.
It was Mo Salah, inevitably, who proved the match-winner, with two goals and a devastating performance that cut Palace to ribbons as he reached 50 Premier League goals.
Immediately after the game, he offered a hint of just how much the spirit in this side means to him though, when he admitted he doesn’t quite see it as the 50-goal mark.
“Yes, it’s nice to reach 50, but I am looking forward to scoring 50 goals with Liverpool, because I got two with Chelsea,” he said with what can only be described as a wicked grin.
They are all in this together, that much is clear. Klopp hugged each of his players on the final whistle. No wonder. They fell behind to a wonderful counter-attacking goal from Palace, who showed throughout what a potent threat they can be when breaking forward at pace.
Wilfried Zaha was magnificent, unplayable in the second half, and left
Klopp admitting afterwards it was a huge win given the damage a “world-class player” caused. “It feels an important victory,” he said with a sigh. “The main emotion is relief. There are different ways to win a
LIVERPOOL .......... 4 CRYSTAL PAL ...... 3
RALPH HASENHUTTL claimed this James Ward-Prowse-inspired victory was the best of his Southampton reign as the Austrian’s St Mary’s revival continued.
England international WardProwse’s stunning long-range strike and a Lucas Digne own goal helped Hasenhuttl’s heroes pull further clear of the relegation dogfight.
Hasenhuttl, who has now taken 13 points from eight games in charge, said: “I am absolutely happy.
“I think it’s the best performance so far since I am here as a manager. football game and we showed we can do it in different ways – the boys did it, and it’s important.”
There was anger in the first half when Andros Townsend clearly handled in the box, and then swiftly went down the other end to convert after Zaha’s run and cross.
Spurred into action, Virgil van Dijk hit a speculative shot that took a deflection off James McArthur, curled up and when 39-year-old keeper Julian Speroni failed to deal with it, Salah converted brilliantly while facing the wrong way. A moment of genius.
Just eight minutes into the second half, Liverpool were ahead when Naby Keita found Roberto Firmino in the box, and his shot deflected wickedly off James Tomkins, through the legs of Cheikhou Kouyate into the far corner. From there, you expected Liverpool’s defensive control of this season to be restored, but not a bit of it. A corner, no marking in the middle, and Tomkins powered home a header unmarked from six yards.
Panic ensued, but Salah is a matchwinner, and he proved as much when a brilliant Fabinho ball found James Milner, and Speroni fumbled the cross, leaving the Egyptian to tap in on the line.
Even then, Liverpool were exposed when Milner, at rightback, was sent off for two bookings as Zaha led him a merry dance.
Order was restored when Sadio Mane raced on to an
Andrew Robertson pass on the break, and finished brilliantly. But Max Meyer scored from the edge of the box and there was still time for Palace to break and for young Reds sub Rafa Camacho to produce a goal-stopping tackle in the box. Could it be Liverpool’s year? Palace boss Roy Hodgson thinks so. “Winning like that, it’s a good place to be for them.” You can see everyone believes in what we are doing and it’s only a question of time before we start to score and start to grab the wins.
“‘I asked James to be more aggressive against the ball. He’s a good footballer which we all knew. He scored a fantastic goal.”
Saints had gone 11 league matches without a win prior to Hasenhuttl’s appointment as manager but look a whole different proposition now. Even so, Gylfi Sigurdsson’s stoppage-time goal set up a nervy finish for the home side.
Icelander Sigurdsson fired home from the edge of the penalty area but Saints, who threw away a 2-0 lead in Wednesday’s FA Cup third-round replay defeat to Derby, managed to hold firm.
The Toffees remain in the bottom half of the table and manager Marco Silva admitted: “I don’t think we deserved the three points. They were more aggressive than us not just with the ball but without the ball.
“If you look at the match there were some moments where they won the second ball and they put some strong pressure on us.”
Southampton 2 Everton 1 Chris Bayliss