Liverpool ensured the Premier League title race went to the final day of the season with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Southampton on Tuesday night.Jurgen Klopp’s side travelled to the south coast knowing they had to win to remain in with a chance of pipping Manchester City to the title and they left with the three points they needed.
They had to do it the hard way, with Southampton taking an early lead through Nathan Redmond’s deflected effort on the counter-attack after VAR decided not to look at a possible foul by Lyanco in the build-up.Liverpool hit back from Takumi Minamino’s powerful effort at the near post and, after some sustained pressure, took the lead midway through the second half when Joel Matip’s looping header found its way in from a corner.
The Reds remain a point behind City going into the season’s finale on Sunday, meaning they will need a favour from Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium and a win against Wolves at Anfield, but a quadruple is still on the cards.Here are three things Klopp got right at St Mary’s and one he got wrong.Klopp was always going to make changes to his starting XI for this game, which came just three days on from the 120 minutes of the FA Cup final.
But nine changes, with Alisson and Ibrahima Konate the only players to keep their places, still caught the eye.Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold did not even travel down to the south coast, prompting a wholesale change of personnel from Klopp, who opted for fresh legs over his usual line-up.“First and foremost, I had to consider, it was clear when we came to this game the situation of Southampton and the point they have to prove,” he told Sky Sports.
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