The Premier League leaders were forced to come from behind but ultimately prevailed. Check out the best facts and Opta data with our Liverpool vs Southampton stats page.
Darwin Núñez was the unlikely inspiration behind a comeback victory for Liverpool that extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 16 points.
The table toppers came into this game against rock-bottom Southampton as huge favourites, and although they eventually came out on top, the three points didn’t come without an almighty scare.
This was the 41st occasion in Premier League history that the team in first place have played the team in last, and only four of the previous 40 instances have ended in a surprise win for the bottom club. Here, Southampton hinted at springing a major shock but ultimately weren’t able to hold on to their lead.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot had chosen to make only three changes to his starting lineup, having been expected to make far more with the upcoming second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie against PSG in mind.
His largely unchanged team nevertheless put in a disappointingly disjointed performance in the first half, failing to keep hold of the ball well enough, and Southampton were a consistent threat on the break.
The visitors’ half-time total of 0.27 xG did not reflect the threat they posed, in part because they did not always manage to get a shot off after making progress up the field, and they created more openings than many would have expected them to.
And it was Southampton who made the breakthrough on the stroke of half-time, as Will Smallbone took advantage of a mix-up between Alisson and Virgil van Dijk in the Liverpool defence to stroke the ball home.
Slot, sitting in the stands as he served the second of his two-match suspension, clearly did not like what he had been watching. He made three substitutions at the break, and the game swung his side’s way almost immediately.
Núñez was on a run of 10 games without a goal and was arguably fortunate not to have been hooked by his manager, having also been booked for a wild lunge just before the break. But Slot was rewarded for sticking by the Uruguayan; six minutes into the second half, Núñez turned in Luis Diaz’s cross to level the scores.
Núñez was then fouled in the box to win a penalty from which the ever-reliable Mohamed Salah made no mistake. The goal took the Egyptian third in the all-time top scorers list in Liverpool’s history.
Salah then added another from the spot after Yukinari Sugawara was adjudged to have handled in the box. The brace took Salah to 44 goal involvements for the season – equalling the record for a 38-game Premier League season (Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and Erling Haaland in 2023-24).
The win moves Liverpool even further clear at the top of the table, and one step closer to a second Premier League title.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Liverpool vs Southampton stats from their Premier League meeting at Anfield.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Liverpool vs Southampton: Post-Match Facts
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