Liverpool opened up an eight-point lead over defending Premier League champions Manchester City thanks to Mohamed Salah’s second-half brace in Sunday’s 3-2 comeback win at Southampton.
Salah tied the match at 2-2 in the 65th minute with a clever finish past onrushing goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and clinched Liverpool’s 10th league win in 12 matches with a well-taken penalty seven minutes from time.
Liverpool could extend the gap to 11 points if they beat City at Anfield next week.
Southampton were their worst enemy in a match they briefly led. Defender Flynn Downes gifted Liverpool the opening goal with a feeble attempt to play it out from the back, allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to intercept and curl home. But the Saints were also a bundle of energy and surged into a 2-1 lead before the hour mark. Adam Armstrong converted the rebound off his own penalty in the 42nd minute and Mateus Fernandes finished a well-worked counterattack to put Southampton in a position to win just their second match of the season.
Then Salah took over. The Egyptian punished McCarthy’s decision to rush off his goal line – one of a league-leading eight errors Southampton have committed in the lead-up to a goal – and buried a penalty awarded for handball.
Salah, who’s out of contract at the end of the season, now has 12 goals across all competitions.
Southampton remain in last place in the Premier League with just four points from 12 matches.
