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MOTD: Southampton 0-2 Liverpool

By on February 22, 2015

It’s too early to spell the end of Southampton’s top four bid, but this was undoubtedly a key setback. Having lost the stronghold on the top four position they have held for many moons while the big boys continue to build momentum, it will be an uphill battle for Ronald Koeman’s men from here. It’s only fitting that the beginning of the end of their Champions League bid may have come in the same fashion as it began: against Liverpool.

This and the opposite fixture in the first weekend of the 2014/2015 season were, in fact, very similar. Southampton was promising and proactive in both games and slightly unlucky to lose. Today, it is easy to see the result going the other way had any of the multiple penalty shouts gone The Saints’ way — particularly Simon Mignolet’s ball-handling outside the box on the brink of the half.

“We played much better football today — I call it unlucky, unlucky. We deserved much more than we got today; it was the same in our first match against Liverpool.” — Ronald Koeman in his post-match interview

Indeed, controversial calls riddled today’s match, stealing headlines from the football. More attention was paid to the referees than to Philippe Coutinho’s incredible thirty-yard belter. Both teams set out to go for it, and Southampton’s first chance came just eighteen seconds in as Filip Djuričić got on the wrong side of Emre Can on the end of a long ball. Djuričić drew the challenge from the center-back yet referee Kevin Friend deemed the forward to have gone down too easily.

It was end-to-end play, and the clock had barely passed the three-minute mark when Coutinho blasted an unstoppable thirty-five yard effort in off the crossbar. Almost immediately after the restart, Southampton again went down the other end and Djuričić likewise found himself scythed down inside the penalty area by Joe Allen; a poor refereeing decision denied the home side the penalty but as the ball bobbled loose it took an equally poor finish from Eljero Elia for Fraser Forster to get a touch on the ball and direct it wide.

Southampton pushed their full-backs high up the pitch all afternoon in attempt to get in behind Liverpool’s wing-backs, Jordan Ibe and Lazar Markovic, yet as Graziano Pelle drew a blank finishing was beyond Koeman’s side.

Liverpool too, though, were subject to Friend’s permissive refereeing, with Jose Fonte getting away with taking down Raheem Sterling inside Southampton’s penalty area. Mingolet’s alleged handing of the ball outside of the penalty area was on the hands of the assistant referee, however, who had failed to keep pace along the offside line after Elia got on the end of a long ball.

And while it was a promising, unifying performance from Southampton, Liverpool got the three points as a poor giveaway and failed clearance lead to Alberto Moreno’s low cross from the left finding its way to Sterling, whose deflected effort buried itself into the back of the net just beyond Forster’s reach. Coutinho and Sterling had been brilliant all night, nearly impossible to track. It only goes to show that Southampton deserve everything they have achieved so far this season.
Man of the Match: Philippe Coutinho

Homepage photo credit: Ingy The Wingy on Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.