Liverpool gain momentum in fight for Champions League berth
It has taken a long time for Liverpool’s trio of ex-Southampton players to be able to point to a performance and say “this is why we left”, but there was ample reason to justify their desertion in Sunday’s 2-0 win at St Mary’s.
Not only did Liverpool’s victory move them to within one point of their rivals for Champions League qualification, but it reinforced the belief that momentum in the battle for the top four is now firmly in the Merseysiders’ camp.
For Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren, who both started against their old employers and were roundly booed for their efforts, and Rickie Lambert, who was left on the bench, there was clear evidence that the season may be turning Liverpool’s way.
It’s exciting. It’s fantastic. My only regret is that we didn’t really get going until November
The victory was delivered courtesy of a superb early strike from Philippe Coutinho, whose ability to flit been the realms of magnificent magician and bystander was perhaps never more in evidence, and a late effort from Raheem Sterling.
It moved Liverpool to within two points of Manchester United in fourth having trailed their great north-west rivals by 10 when Brendan Rodgers’ side lost at Old Trafford in mid-December.
After their terrible start to the season, Liverpool have now won five of their last six in the league and having leaked goals for a pastime in the early part of the campaign, they have now kept five league clean sheets in a row away from home for the first time since 1985.