Liverpool player ratings as Mohamed Salah good but one better in Southampton win

Liverpool player ratings as Mohamed Salah good but one better in Southampton win

Ian Doyle with the Liverpool player ratings and scores after the Premier League win against Southampton at Anfield on Saturday afternoon

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Liverpool took another big step towards the Premier League title after they survived a scare against rock-bottom Southampton at Anfield on Saturday. A dreadful first-half performance saw the Reds behind to Will Smallbone's opener before a Darwin Nunez equaliser and Mohamed Salah penalty within a minute of each other shortly after the break turned the game on its head, with Salah netting another spot kick late on.

The result means Arne Slot's side are now 16 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with nine games to play, although the Gunners have two matches in hand.

Here the ECHO assess the Liverpool players after a proverbial game of two halves.

Alisson Becker 6

Safe hands with a brace of efforts at him before break but mix-up for opener. Smart stop from Archer second half.

Trent Alexander-Arnold 8

Denied by Ramsdale first half and probed the Southampton defence throughout with his range of passing. Defensively on point, too, in very fine showing. Subbed.

Ibrahima Konate 6

Not the most convincing before interval particularly when up against the tricky Sulemana. Fewer issues second half as Southampton were pinned back.

Virgil van Dijk 6

Dominance in the air ensured he cleared succession of Southampton corners but partly responsible for opener for his former team.

Kostas Tsimikas 5

Not quite on the same wavelength as his team-mates and some troubles dealing with the lively Dibling. Booked and subbed.

Ryan Gravenberch 6

Mixed bag before break with some neat footwork allied to occasional sloppy distribution and being dispossessed a bit too easily at times. Better after interval. Subbed.

Curtis Jones 6

Started strongly and shot wide after good move but became bogged down by the slog. Subbed.

Mohamed Salah 7

Saw a lot of the ball on the right flank first half but couldn’t quite find the right pass. Much better after break and slotted home both penalties confidently.

Dominik Szoboszlai 5

Flitted in and out of the game and understandably didn’t quite possess the energy of recent weeks. Subbed.

Luis Diaz 7

No shortage of endeavour but ran into too many dead ends and found Walker-Peters difficult to pass first half. Totally different story after half-time and did brilliantly to create the equaliser and force second penalty.

Darwin Nunez 7

One shot on turn at Ramsdale but needed more service first half and picked up stupid booking. But transformed game by scoring equaliser and winning penalty inside a minute. Subbed.

Andy Robertson (for Tsimikas 46) 7

Provided much more assurance at left-back both in defence and in particular going forward.

Alexis Mac Allister (for Jones 46) 7

Ability and composure on the ball made an immediate difference.

Harvey Elliott (for Szoboszlai 46) 7

Brought plenty of energy and caused the Southampton defence regular issues.

Wataru Endo (for Gravenberch 81)

Introduced to help see the game out.

Jarell Quansah (for Alexander-Arnold 89)

More minutes for the youngster.

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