Southampton 1-0 Liverpool: Reds fume over VAR/ Alexander-Arnold’s form becomes a real concern

Southampton 1-0 Liverpool: Match highlights

Watch the official highlights from Southampton’s 1-0 win against Liverpool.

Ings makes the difference

Jurgen Klopp’s men made the trip to St. Mary’s a short time ago, for their latest league outing.

The champions of course headed into proceedings in search of a bounce-back result, on the back of a pair of respective draws with West Brom and Newcastle over the last couple of weeks.

This had allowed Manchester United to join Liverpool at the summit of the English top-flight, making a 3-point haul of absolutely paramount importance this evening.

As outlined above, however, when all was said and done in the southeast, the visitors’ woes only ramped up further.

Upon the final whistle sounding, a solitary Southampton goal proved the difference between the sides, sending Liverpool back to Merseyside with their tails between their legs.

The game’s deciding moment came inside three minutes, when a brilliantly worked set-piece saw James Ward-Prowse’s dinked delivery set Danny Ings free, allowing the English international to loft a wonderful finish into the far corner of his former side’s net:

What a start for #SaintsFC! 😇

Ings scores against his former club with a lovely finish after catching out the #LFC defence!

📺 Watch on Sky Sports PL
📱 Follow #SOULIV here: https://t.co/gW5s2cWg9x
📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/3BgBcUPMgs

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2021

The visitors pushed for an equaliser as the clash progressed, pinning Southampton in their own half during the early exchanges following the interval.

All told, though, Liverpool, once again, simply failed to produce when it mattered most.

This is as good as it has got for #LFC…

Mane turns back onto his right, but spoons his shot over and wide! 🥄

📺 Watch on Sky Sports PL
📱 Follow #SOULIV here: https://t.co/gW5s2cWg9x
📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/WcjWhoNYni

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2021

Manchester United will now have the opportunity to secure sole ownership of the Premier League’s top spot in 8 days’ time, when the Red Devils make the trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

VAR & TAA

On the back of proceedings coming to a close at St. Mary’s, meanwhile, despite the relative lack of action over the course of the 90 minutes, a number of noteworthy talking points have since come to the fore online.

Unsurprisingly, one has centered on VAR, with the Liverpool faithful of the widespread opinion that their side should have been awarded at least one penalty this evening.

The first claim came when Gini Wijnaldum’s goalbound strike struck the arm of Southampton stopper Jack Stephens, before Sadio Mane later went to ground under a clumsy challenge on the part of Kyle Walker-Peters:

VAR is a shambles. pic.twitter.com/bq6khW5Jp6

— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) January 4, 2021

Marriner has let them manhandle Mané and Salah all night. Seriously, it’s the worst refereeing performance I’ve seen since that Man Utd vs Arsenal game in 2004. And now we have VAR ignoring the clear fouls and handballs, to rub salt into the wounds.

— Paul Tomkins (@paul_tomkins) January 4, 2021

Pretty sure that was a penalty the other day.

— Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) January 4, 2021

Another Controversial VAR Decision! We seen Pogba’s penalty given for the same thing! #ShockingVAR pic.twitter.com/J0WoiCOB1T

— Shocking VAR (@ShockingVar) January 4, 2021

How is that not a penalty????

— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) January 4, 2021

Have seen that given as a handball and penalty all season. Where is the consistency?

— Leanne Prescott (@_lfcleanne) January 4, 2021

Another noteworthy, albeit slightly less high-profile takeaway stemming from the action at St. Mary’s, though, surrounds Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The English stopper was at fault for the only goal of the clash, after losing track of Danny Ings, before misjudging the flight of James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick.

This, however, only marks the tip of the iceberg when it comes to TAA’s recent form.

The 22-year-old, who was widely hailed as the best right-back in the Premier League en route to Liverpool’s title success last season, has looked a shadow of his former self for weeks now.

Sloppy in possession, positionally inept, and lacking the sheer will of Andy Robertson on the opposite flank, Alexander-Arnold’s performances are developing into a genuine concern for Jurgen Klopp and co.

Perfectly summing up the struggles of the talented stopper this evening, meanwhile, is the statistic showcased below, revealing that TAA managed to surrender possession on no less than 38 occasions over the course of his 77 minutes on the pitch versus Southampton:

Most times possession lost in a Premier League game since 2016-17:

◎ Alexander-Arnold: 49 vs Leicester (19/20)
◎ R. Pereira: 42 vs Southampton (18/19)
◎ B. Chilwell: 42 vs Everton (18/19)

38 by Trent Alexander-Arnold this evening is joint-16th most. pic.twitter.com/E6dkrInnZO

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 4, 2021

Andy Robertson believes Liverpool only need points total ‘in the 80s’ to win league this season

Jurgen Klopp on possibility of Liverpool signing players in January

This article was edited by Josh Barker.

Source: 101greatgoals.com