A first-half screamer from Philippe Coutinho, and a second-half goal from Raheem Sterling has allowed Liverpool to close in the top four as they beat Southampton 2-0 at St Mary's.
Coutinho struck for the Reds just four minutes in as Markovic gave the ball up for Coutinho, who took a few touches and struck it as it flew and hit the underside of the bar to give Liverpool the edge. It took half an hour into the second-half for Liverpool to double their lead as Targett's clearence was sent right back to Sterling who sent it right past Forster to essentially clinch the points for the visitors.
For Liverpool, the absence of Steven Gerrard meant Henderson would take over the role as captain and would partner up with Joe Allen in the midfield. Two former Southampton players would make their St. Mary's return as Lallana and Lovren were inserted into the starting lineup for this one. For the Saints, Filip Djuricic and James Ward-Prowse get starts as Sadio Mane and Harisson Reed were dropped to the bench.
In the first minute, Southampton were looking for a penalty call, but Kevin Friend was having none of it as Djuricic looked like he went down to easily. Lovren's reception was a loud chorus of boos for his comments he made before departing the club. After that chorus of boos though, Liverpool went on the attack. Markovic recieved the ball laid it off for Coutinho, and the Brazilian just took a couple of touches before he hit an absolute screamer which hit under the crossbar to give Liverpool the lead in under five minutes.
The hosts nearly struck back just a minute later as Allen took down Djuricic, but advantage was played which allowed the ball to fall to Elia for the shot, but Mignolet made a fantastic save with his leg. The first booking of the night went to ex-Southampton man Dejan Lovren for taking down Ward-Prowse as he tried to start the counterattack. The Croatian was not too happy, but cheers from the the St. Mary's faithful showed their approval of the decision, It would take up until near halftime for another significant chance to come up, and that chance would come to Southampton. Elia raced behind the Liverpool defense from an over-the-top ball which Mignolet came to meet, and Elia went for the chip but Mignolet just got a touch on it. The Saints were looking for a call as it looked Mignolet may have handled outside the box but no call was given. The Reds went into the break with the slight advantage.
Both teams came out of halftime each making a change. Southampton brought on Morgan Schneiderlin for Steven Davis, and Liverpool replaced Lazar Markovic with Alberto Moreno.
It would take until the hour mark for a chance to suffice as Sadio Mane, on for Ward-Prowse, controls the pass on his chest and went for the volley, but Skrtel did well to deny it from getting on target.
Southampton would get their first man in the books sixty-four minutes in as Wanyama got a touch to the ball before flattening Sterling which the referee saw was a bookable offense even though it looked like a fair challenge from most perspectives. With sixteen minutes left to play, Liverpool doubled their lead as Sterling found the back of the net. Moreno intercepted a Schneiderlin pass which then allowed him to play a one-two with Sterling. His cross was poor, but the clearence by Targett was hit right back to Sterling, and the youngster did well to his right past Forster.
After the goal, Brendan Rodgers became more defensive-minded bringing on Glen Johnson for Jordan Ibe. Southampton's Ronald Koeman decided he needed to push for a two late goals by bringing on Dusan Tadic for Filip Djuricic. Bringing on Tadic did not help Southampton really challenge Mignolet even with an extra five minutes added on at the end.
The win meant Liverpool jump up to sixth with 45 points, just three behind Arsenal who are in third. The cleansheet meant five consecutive clean sheets on the road for The Reds and have had five cleansheets in their last six league games. Southampton stay fifth on 46 points, but they are also just a win away from going into third as they are two points behind Arsenal who have 48 points. This win for Liverpool has significantly heated up the race for the top four as third thru seventh are just within four points of each other as the Barclays Premier League Season appraoches the home stretch.