Rubén Sellés and Jürgen Klopp’s teams produced one of the games of the Premier League season on an exciting final day at St. Mary’s.
This was one of Sunday’s clashes that could most easily have been deemed a ‘dead rubber’ and yet it produced a thoroughly engaging contest. Perhaps, in reality, the reduced jeopardy levels helped.
Bottom of the table Southampton’s relegation was confirmed a little over a fortnight ago and they did – following a tricky start – have the look of a side keen to make the most of the club’s last Premier League outing of their 11-year stint in the top-flight.
A much-changed Liverpool, who will be in the Europa League next season, displayed some of the familiar deficiencies that have hampered them for much of the campaign.
Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Chelsea on Thursday night ensured that the Reds would finish in fifth and that next term will be the first since 2016/17 in which they won’t play Champions League football.
There were, also, reminders of the considerable quality that they do possess as Diogo Jota and the departing Roberto Firmino fired them into a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes.
A positive Saints response, combined with considerable sloppiness from the visitors, began to take the game in a different direction, though.
James Ward-Prowse and Kamaldeen Sulemana made it 2-2 as soon as the 28th minute and then, less than three minutes after the restart, Sulemana put the hosts 3-2 ahead after he ended an excellent run by converting from 20 yards.
Substitute Adam Armstrong extended the advantage in the 64th minute but an astounding spell saw fellow substitute Cody Gakpo and Jota’s second of the day make it 4-4 by the 74th minute.
Story of the match
Southampton made one change from last Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion, as Sulemana came in for Joe Aribo.
There were seven alterations for Liverpool, meanwhile, from their 1-1 Anfield draw with Aston Villa eight days earlier, as Klopp took the chance to rotate.
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson weren’t involved, while Ibrahima Konaté, Jordan Henderson, Gakpo and Luis Díaz moved to the bench.
Caoimhín Kelleher, Joël Matip, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas and Jota earned starts, alongside James Milner and Firmino – who were both making their last appearance for the Reds after highly successful eight-year stints on Merseyside.
The game’s relatively quiet opening was brought to an abrupt halt in the 10th minute as Roméo Lavia’s attempted square pass to Jan Bednarek in his own box was well-read by Jota who coolly sidefooted into a virtually open net.
Firmino doubled the advantage four minutes later – and did so in familiarly fleet-footed fashion. After being found by Fabinho, the No.9 sat Lyanco down as he weaved his way into a shooting position in the box and fired a low right-footed effort beyond Alex McCarthy. A fitting way to round off his scoring for the club.
But the hosts were showing some signs of promise. Sulemana sent an overhead-kick off-target and their fightback was kickstarted soon enough by Ward-Prowse who swept Carlos Alcaraz’s pass home from 15 yards.
Sulemana then levelled things up on 27 minutes as he latched onto and converted Theo Walcott’s through-ball after Liverpool surrendered possession in midfield.
The Saints were, all of a sudden, looking increasingly assured as their opponents began to rock. Ward-Prowse’s disguised free-kick from the left flank was kept out by Kelleher after half an hour and the Irish goalkeeper made another good stop from Sulemana following a corner shortly before the interval.
Within three minutes of the restart, Sulemana completed the turnaround in emphatic fashion as he drove from his own half before finding the bottom-right corner superbly from 20 yards.
A goal that, understandably, drew comparisons from some with Sofiane Boufal’s iconic individual effort against West Bromwich Albion in 2017.
Jota couldn’t quite convert from close range shortly afterwards after Mohamed Salah had seen an effort of his own blocked.
There were four substitutions for Liverpool just prior to the hour mark, and a couple from Southampton shortly afterwards, and two of those who were newly introduced somewhat inadvertently combined to make it 4-2 to the Saints.
Henderson’s loose pass was latched onto by Adam Armstrong in the 64th minute and the 26-year-old drilled a left-footed effort back across Kelleher and in.
It was a goal that felt reflective of the contrasting forms of momentum being displayed by both sides. And yet, the visitors then swiftly swung the pendulum back in their direction.
Gakpo converted a superb volleyed Trent Alexander-Arnold cross to make it 4-3 in the 72nd minute and sensationally, within moments, Jota’s rasping right-footed effort made it 4-4 after he was found by Salah.
Harvey Elliott saw another quick-fire attempt well saved by McCarthy and Salah then beat the goalkeeper but struck the post in the 79th minute.
It remained difficult to doubt either side’s desire to get the three points as the game flew from one end to the other.
Carlos Alcaraz was denied well by Kelleher inside the final 10 minutes of normal time following an errant Alexander-Arnold pass, and Henderson’s powerful shot was sharply kept out by McCarthy.
The home goalkeeper then went one better as he brilliantly kept out Salah’s 90th-minute attempt.
Kyle Walker-Peters brought a good save out of Kelleher at the other end in the fifth minute of stoppage time, while Salah saw yet another effort come close in the seventh.
It felt apt, in many ways, that there was drama virtually right up to the final whistle.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: KAMALDEEN SULEMANA
The 21-year-old Ghanaian international’s two goals were superbly taken, while he offered a persistent threat to an unsettled Liverpool backline throughout.
His first was neatly taken, but his second – to give the Saints the lead for the first time on the afternoon – was sensational on several levels.
The drive from his own half was brilliantly direct, and the finish was wonderfully composed. With today in mind, it feels likely that we’ll see plenty more of Sulemana in years to come.