Mo’ Salsa

Alright, so maybe this isn’t my best pun column title ever, but…it sure got spicy out there today, didn’t it?

This game had trap written all over it. Sitting on top, away to bottom of the league in windy, rainy weather, knowing that a win will hand us a “two and draw” game advantage against the team that has won six of the last seven titles, and coming right after the international break. In soccer, these are the kind of circumstances and pressure that invite unexpected outcomes, not least because the game’s low scoring nature invites surprises. The Saints, on their part, made sure that the salad was well mixed and the trap was sprung.

Thankfully there was Mo, the special house sauce, and he’s on a roll.

…which is also a pun. These early morning games on the west coast make me a lil’ hungry by the time I sit down to write these columns.

Anyway.

Liverpool pretty much dominated all the stats, but couldn’t get near McCarthy without help from Southampton. The latter’s high risk, high reward style of playing from the back can pay big dividends, as it did today in both of the hosts’ goals. The problem is that it can lead to some major howlers in the back, and a good team that is aware of the potential will take advantage. Today it started with Szobo (finally), who found himself with plenty of space on the edge of the box with the ball materializing at his feet. He still had plenty to do and his finish off the far post was nothing short of elegant. The Reds were one up and you would be forgiven for thinking it was all over, considering all those pretty stats.

Then Southampton cashed one of those dividend checks on a 50-50 penalty call, which Kelleher saved but Armstrong converted on the rebound. Fifteen minutes later Fernandes deposited another one, and the smoke could be seen coming from the kitchen. There it was.

The trap.

Still, there was one good thing about it, which was that it happened fairly early. That second goal coming in the last ten minutes of the game would have killed it. With 35 minutes left to play, and fresh legs coming on, there was every hope that Liverpool could turn it around. In fact, it was a test of this team’s mettle. If Arne’s Liverpool is truly going after the title, then this is the kind of game they need to put away anyway – even after things go awry.

Diaz and Macca supplied the necessary energy, but it fell to Salah to do that which he does best even when he does it almost accidentally. An utterly stupendous pass from Gravenberch saw Salah pass to himself around McCarthy, only to overhit it…right into goal. We were level again, and the Reds were not in any mood to let the chance slip away. The pressure finally paid off when an unfortunate handball (impacted, surely, by the slippery conditions) led to a penalty, which Salah converted gorgeously for his second of the game.

Now came the final test. Trap games tend to have more than one hidden trap, and 3-3 was entirely in the cards. But this is where Slot, in his role, seems a hair above Klopp; his version of Liverpool is much more able to close out games. In came the specialist, Wataru Endo, whose tenacity and focus in those last ten minutes to defend a precious lead already has and will continue to help Liverpool protect many points this season.

As the final whistle came, I looked at the TV screen in wonder. That gap at the top is almost as lovely as those abs Mo chose to display at the cost of a yellow. Can’t blame him really, I’d want to show those off too. City looks in shambles, and we have every chance of going 11 ahead of them at Anfield next weekend. If that happens, we’ll also have a full three games in hand over whomever will be second. That would be a formidable gap to have opened going into December.

That Real Madrid game coming up on Wednesday is mighty inconvenient, though. My heart says protect the senior players, we don’t need anything from this upcoming game after the enormous start to our Champions League season. This isn’t Football Manager, though, so I’ll be grateful that we have found such a talented head coach in Arne slot.

Seems like he knows what he’s doing.