Liverpool 1 - Southampton 1: Jurgen Klopp Anfield party spoiled by late Sadio Mane goal

Jurgen Klopp has plenty to think about after three consecutive draws

JURGEN KLOPP is learning with every outing, though the latest lesson was as much one for him to digest as his Liverpool players.

 

Klopp had bolted down the touchline and vaulted into the air, his fists pumping, when Christian Benteke produced a towering header to break the tedium in the second-half yet the jubilation was to prove short-lived.

Just four minutes remained when Liverpool carelessly conceded a free-kick and then lost not one, but two, aerial duels before Sadio Mane conjured the telling touch to maintain Southampton’s unbeaten record away from home this term.

“Now I know don’t celebrate too early,” said the Liverpool manager with a wry grin after witnessing a third successive stalemate that was bereft of attacking pizzazz.

 

The wait for a first victory goes on and his vision of full throttle football presently feels fanciful for a side that is stuck in neutral, unable even to creep forward.

This was Liverpool’s eighth draw in nine matches, though there are a myriad of statistics that shine a light onto the underlying problems the German must resolve in the coming weeks.

In total, they have now had 99 shots in the Premier League this term (excluding blocked shots) and that their paltry goals tally stands at just nine speaks volumes for how the squad Klopp has inherited has lost its way.

Once again there were the usual array of pot-shots from distance that never looked capable of troubling Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg as a lack of creativity continues to anchor the quest for meaningful progress.

 

Christian Benteke gave Liverpool the lead with 13 minutes left

One of the features of Klopp’s reign so far has been the number of times he stands on the touchline with his arm out-stretched, indicating where the pass should be played, and his frustration at how long it takes for his players to play it.

He possesses no one who can switch the play and the tempo suffers as a result. Consider, too, Philippe Coutinho’s run of anaemic performances and there is a sense things could get worse before they get better despite his public backing for his players.

Of course, there is nothing Klopp can do to rectify matters until January, at the earliest, and so he needs to keep players onside.

Yet the smarter members of his squad will see through the plethora of platitudes and be minded to rouse themselves because patience is sure to be thinning in private.

The introduction of Benteke for youngster Divock Origi at half-time understandably brought more potency and the one quality delivery he received was thrillingly dispatched in the 76th minute.

 

James Milner found himself wide on the right, a position he grew tired of playing at Manchester City, and curled over a pinpoint centre which the £32.5m Belgium forward won above Jose Fonte and powered into the top corner.

Benteke should now be ready to start matches, though if Liverpool continue defending set-pieces as they have for longer than anyone at Anfield will care to remember then the benefits of his return from injury will be limited.

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman would have bemoaned his side’s offensive threat for much of the encounter, but such are the host’s frailties he would have also recognised that while the deficit was slender they still had a puncher’s chance.

So it proved. If Klopp’s celebrations were premature, then the real naivety lie with set-piece conceded soon after.

Milner flattened Ryan Bertrand and when James Ward-Prowse’s sent over a free-kick, Fonte won the first header, and Gaston Ramirez the second, which allowed Mane to reach the ball before Simon Mignolet could react.

 



Sadio Mane pounced on some poor defending from a free kick to scramble the ball in



"Everyone knows you should avoid things like this against teams like Southampton with their strength in the air and so on,” said Klopp, momentarily telling it like it really is.

"We lose three times the one-on-one in the air. Bad luck? And it's a draw”.

Mane, a constant menace, ended with a red card for late challenges on Roberto Firmino and Alberto Moreno.

Still, the damage he inflicted was more to Liverpool’s confidence than his opponent’s legs.

Liverpool (4-3-2-1): Mignolet 6; Clyne 6, Skrtel 6, Sakho 6, Moreno 6; Milner 6, Lucas 7, Can 6; Lallana 6 (Firmino 67 6), Coutinho 6 (Ibe 83); Origi 5 (Benteke 45 7).

Booked: Milner

Goal: Benteke (77)

Next Up: Bournemouth (h) CC Wed

Southampton (4-2-3-1): Stekelenburg 6; Soares 6, Fonte 6, Van Dijk 6, Bertrand 7; Wanyama 7, Clasie 6 (Juanmi 76 6); Davis 6 (Ramirez 80 6), Mane 7, Tadic 6 (Ward-Prowse 64 6); Pelle 6.

Booked: Mane

Sent-off: Mane

Goal: Mane (86)

Next Up: Aston Villa (h) CC Wed

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)