THE VIRG OF TEARS
Ralph is left a sobbing wreck by Van Dijk & Co
SIMON MULLOCK RALPH HASENHUTTL burst into tears when he beat Jurgen Klopp for the first time last season.
This time, the Saints’ boss had a very different reason to weep.
Diogo Jota scored twice and further goals from Thiago and Virgil van Dijk enhanced Liverpool’s standing as the most entertaining team in the country.
Southampton were lucky it wasn’t a whole lot worse after a performance which should have come with the waving of a white flag.
Hasenhuttl blamed himself for switching to a three-man defence that was torn apart with ease by the rampant Reds. Forget Storm Arwen. There’s a hurricane blowing at Anfield.
Liverpool have now scored 39 goals in their first 13 games. If they carry on at this rate, they’ll have 114 by the end of the campaign.
They also become the first top-flight team in English football to score at least twice in 17 straight matches in all competitions since Sunderland in 1927.
Klopp believes the lessons he learned during last season’s failed title defence have made him a better manager.
He said: “It’s good that we are scoring so many goals, but if we win a game 1-0, I am happy as well.
“It is all down to the stability we now have in the team again.
“I learned a lot last season. I make mistakes.
“It is easy for me to look back and know it was wrong to have played midfielders in defence when our centre-halves were injured. Losing centre-halves is like breaking a leg.
“But if you then put midfielders in the last line and you open up other gaps then you break your spine and you can’t walk anymore. So last season was difficult, but it wasn’t wasted because I learned so much.”
Saints’ 1-0 victory over Liverpool at St Mary’s in January remains the only time Hasenhuttl has avoided defeat at the hands of Klopp in seven attempts.
It took just 112 seconds for Jota to put Liverpool ahead – and the Portuguese star had already missed one decent chance before that.
Sadio Mane slipped in the returning Andy Roberston on the gallop down the right and when he crossed low there was Jota to sweep the ball past Saints keeper Alex McCarthy.
The dangerous Jota could have claimed the match ball by half-time.
Mo Salah clipped a glorious effort just beyond the far post after cutting in from the right before a quickfire double really did have the visitors reeling.
First, Jota scored again in the 32nd minute when Salah produced a brilliant exchange of passes with Jordan Henderson and rolled a cross into his path to do the business from three yards.
And then, five minutes later, Thiago went dancing into Southampton’s box before unleashing a shot that took a deflection off Lyanco’s knee and flew high past McCarthy.
Jota scuffed one more decent chance wide, but would surely have claimed a first-half hat-trick had Salah found him with a simple pass after a lightning
Liverpool break. Hasenhuttl hauled off Che Adams and Jan Bednarek at the interval. But Liverpool scored again after 51 minutes through Van Dijk (right, celebrating with Mane).
He shrugged off Oriol Romeu with ease and marched onto Trent Alexander-Arnold’s right-wing corner to punish his former club with a thumping volley. Liverpool keeper Alisson had been forced to save at the feet of James Ward-Prowse and Armando Broja in the first period – but both chances came courtesy of Liverpool mistakes.
Southampton’s ambition after the break stretched no further than damage limitation. Jota missed another treble chance when he slid in to meet
Robertson’s cross but failed to keep his toe-poke down. And only Mohammed Salisu’s block prevented Salah from getting the goal his performance deserved.
Hasenhuttl added: “We tried to surprise them a little bit by changing our normal shape – but I think we ended up surprising ourselves. It was my mistake. I take it on myself. I sent them out in the first half with a plan that wasn’t good.
“Liverpool had too much individual quality. We just couldn’t stop them.
“We changed it at half time to our normal system, but the game was already gone.”