Darwin Núñez ended his Anfield goal drought to help Liverpool come from behind again to beat Southampton 3-1, stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League to 16 points.
Fresh from having won a tussle at PSG, 1-0 midweek, Liverpool iced home to play bottom-placed Southampton, anticipating a less sweaty challenge.
But the Reds were stunned by a sucker punch right before the interval as defensive indecisiveness between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker enabled Will Smallbone to tap home his first-ever top-flight strike.
With Arne Slot watching from the sidelines serving a touchline ban, Liverpool made three changes at half-time — Andy Robertson, Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott for Kostas Tsimikas, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz. The hosts reacted quickly, leveling in the 52nd minute when Luís Díaz set Núñez up to steer home his first Anfield goal since November. Then, minutes later, the Uruguayan earned a penalty, one which Mohamed Salah calmly converted to change the momentum of the match.
Later, Yukinari Sugawara’s handball allowed Salah to double the lead from the spot, the Egyptian converting for his 27th league strike of the season. Liverpool close in on a 20th league title while Southampton sink further into relegation trouble, now 13 points adrift.
