Diaz sends Salah reminder as Slot gets all the big Liverpool calls right

Luis Diaz sends Mohamed Salah reminder as Arne Slot gets all the big Liverpool calls right

Liverpool talking points from Ian Doyle after the comeback 3-2 victory at Southampton

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Liverpool’s players have long made clear their appreciation for Mohamed Salah. But that didn’t stop Luis Diaz offering a reminder.

As a shirtless Salah celebrated in front of the way end after netting the winner, Diaz scooped the Egyptian’s jersey up off the floor and held it up to the Reds support by way of salute before handing it back to his team-mate. Small wonder. Not for the first time in his Anfield career, Salah had dug Liverpool out of a hole.

His clever finish when running on to Ryan Gravenberch’s inviting ball over the top – prodding home ahead of onrushing Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy for the equaliser – was that of a finisher still at the top of his game, while his penalty, smashed into the top corner, demonstrated Salah has lost none of his nerve.

Only the width of a post later prevented him from netting a hat-trick having in the first half been thwarted on several occasions.

The Egyptian now has 12 goals and 10 assists in 18 appearances this season, and has already reached double figures in terms of Premier League strikes.

And, of course, Salah ended the day with a yellow card having picked up a fifth booking in his Liverpool career for taking off his jersey,

You can still put your shirt on the Egyptian at Liverpool. That new contract remains an absolute no-brainer.

Szoboszlai season starts

Dominik Szoboszlai may have assumed the role of taking the kick-offs for Liverpool but there remains a sense the season hasn’t yet properly started for the midfielder.

Szoboszlai’s coolly-taken injury-time equaliser for Hungary against Germany in their midweek UEFA Nations League clash suggests confidence isn’t an issue.

But whether it’s the ongoing adjustment to playing as the number 10 under Arne Slot or the increased rotation in the engine room, the 24-year-old hasn’t really been able to strike a consistent run of form despite some flashes of what he is capable.

Where the Szoboszlai has remained important, though, is in leading the required press with his work-rate and physicality. And all of that came together at a blustery St Mary’s when he lit the blue touchpaper on a dramatic afternoon with his well-taken opener on the half-hour after Liverpool’s harassing forced the Southampton rearguard into a mistake they had already threatened.

That it was Szoboszlai’s first Premier League strike since January highlights the area in which he can clearly improve. Certainly, there is much more in his locker in terms of creativity.

Nobody, though, can question his commitment. Now Szoboszlai and Liverpool will hope the season finally starts here for the midfielder.

Diaz the right decision

The big question for Slot before this game was, after another demanding international break, to which extent he turned to his South American contingent.

Darwin Nunez was the sole starter, and appeared a little jaded in his attempts before the break to find space among a packed Southampton rearguard.

His second half, though, was much more lively, helped in no small part by the arrival of Diaz from the bench in place of a subdued Cody Gakpo on the left flank.

Diaz almost scored with practically his first touch when a Nunez cross was just out of reach, while his close control and direct running helped keep Southampton pinned back during the decisive final period.

And with Alexis Mac Allister quietly going about his business when also introduced and Wataru Endo once again successfully helping see the game out late on, Slot’s in-game management helped transform a costly defeat into a memorable win.

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