Danny Ings scored in the second minute as Southampton beat Liverpool 1-0 to put a dent in their title defence.
Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum came in as Klopp revamped his midfield three. While Jordan Henderson partnered Fabinho at centre-back.
Saints made three changes from the goalless draw against West Ham – the team’s second in succession – as Ibrahima Diallo and Stuart Armstrong both returned, having last started at Fulham on Boxing Day.
In-front of goal, first Saints appearance for Fraser Forster since May 2019, and a first at St Mary’s in more than three years.
Ings produced the 50th Premier League goal of his career, against his former club, when he hooked James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick over Alisson with a deft piece of skill.
Nathan Tella curled narrowly wide on the stroke of half-time in a strong showing from Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.
Although Liverpool pushed hard for an equaliser in the second half it was not until the 75th minute that Sadio Mane had their first shot on target.
The former Saints forward forced a save from Fraser Forster on the goalkeeper’s first Premier League appearance since May 2019.
Yan Valery might have scored a second for Southampton when Alisson raced outside his penalty area, but the Frenchman’s shot lacked the strength to reach its target.
Southampton’s first win in five matches takes them up to sixth place on 29 points.
After their second defeat of the campaign Liverpool remain top on goal difference from their next opponents Manchester United, who have a match in hand.
What Next ?
- Southampton will travel to King Power Stadium to take on Leicester on 16th January.
- Liverpool will host second placed Manchester United at Anfield on 17th January.
Match-Stats:
| Southampton | Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Possession % | 67 |
| 3 | Shots on target | 1 |
| 7 | Shots | 17 |
| 572 | Touches | 879 |
| 352 | Passes | 675 |
| 18 | Tackles | 16 |
| 43 | Clearances | 3 |
| 1 | Corners | 10 |
| 6 | Offsides | 1 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 3 |
| 5 | Fouls conceded | 12 |
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.bleachersnews.com/premier-league-southampton-1-0-liverpool/&media=https://www.bleachersnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Southampton-beats-Liverpool-scaled.jpg&description="We had a bad start in the game, we played completely into Southampton’s hands and gave the game away, we have to admit now, in the first few minutes because after that we were not calm enough to create the opportunities to turn it around."- Klopp){kind=link}