History didn't favour the hosts in this match as Southampton have won only one of their 14 Premier League meetings with current league leaders Liverpool.
Liverpool took the lead in the 30th minute as Szoboslai scored a delightful goal from the edge of the box with Southampton equalising only 12 minutes later when Armstrong had his penalty scored and then made no mistake at the second time of asking.
The hosts then took the lead in the 56th minute with a goal from Mateus Fernandes putting The Saints in front. The lead only lasted nine minutes after Mohamed Salah put Liverpool level in the 65th minute.
Salah stepped up again in the 83rd minute, this time from the penalty spot which he converted to allow Liverpool to take home all three points.
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Story of the match
Russell Martin made five changes to his side that started in the 2-0 defeat to Wolves. McCarthy started in his 150th Premier League appearance as he replaced Aaron Ramsdale due to a finger injury.
Fraser was also picked over Jan Bednarek due to another injury blow for Southampton. Downes, Dibling and Onuachu all earned starts as Manning, Archer and Aribo were dropped to the bench.
Arne Slot opted for three changes to his side that defeated Villa 2-0 last time out with Bradley replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold due to injury, Szoboszlai gets the nod to start ahead of Mac Allister and Gakpo is favoured over Diaz.
The seventh minute saw a VAR check after Armstrong went down at the edge of the box due to what seemed to be a push from Konate. The referee awarded a corner at first but was delayed due to a VAR check which deemed the push to be minimal contact.
The first yellow card of the game came in the 13th minute as Conor Bradley came to meet Lallana too quickly and tripped the former Liverpool player.
Another Liverpool defender entered the book in the 16th minute when Konate shoved Onuachu off the ball as he looked to break away into Liverpool's half.
Liverpool had a decent challenge in the 21st minute as Gakpo fizzed a lovely ball which found Salah at the back post, he fired a shot on goal but unfortunately for Liverpool McCarthy did well to make a save from a tight angle.
Three cards were shown inside 23 minutes with the third being shown to Liverpool's former man Adam Lallana as he made a reckless tackle on Gravenberch.
Dominik Szoboszlai put Liverpool 1-0 up in the 30th minute. The hosts insisted on playing from the back when Downes made a costly mistake as he tried to clear the ball which ended up straight at the feet of Szoboszlai on the edge of the area, who curled it into the back of the net with ease.
Only three minutes later Southampton tried to get themselves back into the game. Downes managed to get a shot off from the centre of the box to test Kelleher from close range who did well to make a save.
Southampton had another chance to level the game in the 42nd minute due to a penalty, which was checked by VAR, after Robertson tripped Dibling rather than the ball.
Kelleher did the hardest part as he saved the penalty, unfortunately for the Irish man he palmed the ball back towards Adam Armstrong who made no mistake in levelling the game just moments before the second half.
As the second half started, Liverpool went straight on the attack but, in the 49th minute, Cody Gakpo found his way into the book after being shown a yellow card after a challenge on Onuachu who picked up an injury from the challenge which caused a break in play as Ugochukwu replaced Onuachu.
The hosts caught Liverpool on the break as Dibling received the ball and played it to Armstrong who held the ball up on the edge of the box as he laid it off to Fernandes who fired the ball towards the far post putting Southampton 2-1 up in the 56th minute.
Liverpool reacted with a goal to bring the game level again only nine minutes later with a goal from Liverpool's main man, Mohamed Salah. Gravenberch played a fantastic ball over the top to Salah as the Egyptian slotted the ball past McCarthy very fashionably.
Only two minutes later Liverpool found an opportunity to take the lead in the game again. Diaz connected with a ball from a corner to pull off a fantastic header which forced McCarthy to produce an outstanding acrobatic save to put the ball over for another corner.
Adam Armstrong was shown the yellow card in the 73rd minute after he stuck a late challenge on Van Dijk.
In the 82nd minute, Liverpool had a penalty after a handball from Sugawara, but Salah struck again this time from the penalty spot putting Liverpool in front.
Six minutes later in the 88th minute, Salah wanted another but unfortunately this time he hit the post after he made strong contact with the ball to beat McCarthy but his efforts fell just short after hitting the inside of the post.
A final yellow card was shown to Jack Stephens in the 98th minute as he hassled Salah and tripped him up with the follow-through.
The final whistle sounded as Liverpool went eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Southampton and Liverpool will face each other again on December 18 in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
Southampton currently now sit bottom of the Premier League as they only hold four points to their name. They face Brighton next at the American Express Stadium.
Liverpool are current Premier League leaders as they hold 31 points to their name as they face Manchester City next at Anfield.
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Player of the Match - Mohamed Salah
In a very end-to-end game, it was Liverpool who took home all three points with Salah contributing two goals out of the three.
Salah guided Liverpool to a thrilling comeback as he brought Liverpool level in the 65th minute, but in the 83rd minute, he scored again from the penalty spot putting an end to Southampton's hopes.
His effort throughout the game was immense as he guided his team to continue their Premier League push.




