When the final whistle rang at Anfield yesterday, it was a huge relief for the Liverpool boss who tried all summer to down-play Luis Suarez exit talks. Liverpool started the season exactly where they left the last – with a 2-1 scrappy win. While their defense was rock solid for the first half when they allowed Southampton little or no-chances, they were caught at-least thrice in the 2nd half demanding last ditch tackles and a brilliant save from Simon Mignolet to keep 3 points in check.
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Here are the 5 things we learnt:
New SAS is in place:
While Philippe Coutinho had an off game today after an amazing display against Dortmund last week in Pre-season, both Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge shown why the Liverpool boss is so confident of Operation-Revival after Suarez departure. Sterling who scored the opener before assisting the last one for Sturridge made an amazing all round performance, not only on the ball but also off the ball. Sturridge on the other hand looked a bit rusty in the 1st half but he kept the Saints side on-check with his efforts from outside the box. He had 3 shots on goal 1 of which turned out to be the winner. So when the next time Liverpool boss nudges off Suarez talks, keep in mind that he has some quality in his side.
Liverpool have depth:
While Liverpool made the lowest number of substitutions last season in the league, they nearly have a bunch of players to choose from in today’s starting lineup. While Joe Allen and Jose Enrique would be starters for Liverpool in the last 2 seasons, they have to settle on the bench as Liverpool have more to offer on-field. While Liverpool defending is still a concern for the Reds boss, he still has players like Daniel Agger and Mamadou Sakho at the side-lines who can be in the starting 11 for any team across Europe. So even though Liverpool have lost a huge gem in Suarez, the depth has finally come for the Mersey-siders.
Right defensive Partnership:
While Rodgers re-iterated his claims that 3 points are all that matters, the final talk from the Liverpool boss may have been different had that effort on goal gone in in the last 5 minutes. And now with Manchester City on full swing the next team to face Liverpool in a nervy-run of fixtures, a tight defensive partnership should be placed. Having said that, both Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren played outstanding especially in the 1st half and dropping either of them would be un-justifiable if things go wrong at the Etihad.
Lucas should be sold:
Having players like Joe Allen and Jordon Henderson and with Emre Can the new addition, it probably is in-decipherable why Rodgers tried to go with Lucas Leiva who had a relatively off pre-season in America with the Reds. Allen performed much better than the Brazilian when he came on and turned out to be decisive in Liverpool’s 2nd goal. So with 14 days to go and some players heading out of the Anfield tunnel, it can be for-seen that the Brazilian Liverpool career is in serious doubt following new arrivals and Joe Allen’s recent performances.
Southampton have lot of positives:
Apart from that heart breaking finish from Sturridge that settled the match, Southampton were pretty good in the good period of 2nd half. While the Saints did not come firing at the start, they responded really well after going a goal down after both goals. If the result has been the other way after final whistle, than it probably has been justified as far as the Saints fans are concerned. Southampton new boys were brilliant especially Dusan Tadic and Ryan Bertrand who kept Javier Manquillo on his toes right from the kick-off. So indeed, there are a lot of positives for Ronaldo Koeman who was facing Liverpool 7th time in his managerial career.
Apart from that heart breaking finish from Sturridge that settled the match, Southampton were pretty good in the good period of 2nd half. While the Saints did not come firing at the start, they responded really well after going a goal down after both goals. If the result has been the other way after final whistle, than it probably has been justified as far as the Saints fans are concerned. Southampton new boys were brilliant especially Dusan Tadic and Ryan Bertrand who kept Javier Manquillo on his toes right from the kick-off. So indeed, there are a lot of positives for Ronaldo Koeman who was facing Liverpool 7th time in his managerial career.
Amir Bashir follow him on Twitter.
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