This weekend Liverpool host one of the most famous races in the world with the Grand National taking place at Aintree later today, and if it is half as dramatic as the race for this seasons Premier League title the punters are in for something special. Liverpool and Manchester City have been switching back and forth between top spot now with each game ramping up the pressure on the side dropping into 2nd. The Reds had to win if they wanted to reclaim 1st place and a poor start meant they had to dig deep but a late goal from Salah, ending his dry spell without a goal then another from captain Henderson sealed the victory to put The Reds back on top with 82 points, 2 ahead of City who have a game in hand.
Jurgen Klopp set his side up in his favoured 4-3-3 formation sticking with Salah up front despite not having scored in 8 games, he was joined by Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. The back 5 was also what was expected with Alisson, Trent Alexander Arnold, Andy Robertson, Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk all maintaining their place. Klopp did mix things up in the midfield though with only Gini Wijnaldum in from the previous game, he was joined by Fabinho and Naby Keita a midfield trio many Liverpool fans have been wanting to see for some time. Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl switched things up for his team, possibly seeing how Liverpool demolished Watford in the 4-2-2-2 formation he had been using recently, Vestergaard came in to play in a back three as they set up in a 3-4-3 with Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse supporting Shane Long up front.
Southampton started the stronger team, seeming more determined when challenging for the ball and preventing Liverpool from stringing passes together with some aggressive pressing. It soon paid off as they took an early lead inside the opening 10 minutes of the game. Ryan Bertrand got forward down the left and clipped an early cross into the box after seeing Hojbjerg make a run in from midfield, Hojbjerg burst into the area between Liverpool's centrebacks and met the ball with a beautiful flick-on into the 6-yard box where Shane Long took a touch before smashing it into the bottom corner to put his side in front. It was a disastrous start for Liverpool with the only blessing being there was plenty of time left in the game to pull it back, however, they would need to up their game as Southampton had been the better side in the opening few minutes and deserved to be ahead.
After the goal, Southampton switched it up a little and started to defend deeper and seemed to be successfully forcing Liverpool to attack through the middle which would break down and then Southampton hoped to hit them on the counter-attack. Liverpool did come close to scoring around the 15th minute when Salah curled a cross towards Mane at the back post but he headed it straight at Gunn who stopped it and Southampton managed to clear the rebound. But other than that the plan seemed to be working and Southampton still looked the stronger team, they came close to doubling their advantage when a ball was played low inside the Liverpool penalty area, it needed just a slight touch to direct it into the net but Long couldn't get close to it in time.
The Saints continued to look the better side through the half but Liverpool seemed to be getting away with it though and on the 35th minute managed to grab an equaliser. The ball was played over to Salah who once again curled a cross to the far post, it didn't find it's target though and was played out for Robertson to have a go at swinging one back over to Salah from the left. His cross went over Salah but was picked up by Trent Alexander Arnold who whipped the ball into the box for the third time in the space of a few seconds, it was third time lucky as this one was headed in by Naby Keita to bring the score to 1-1. Gunn did get a glove to it to paw it away but it was already over the line by that point and the goal decision system on the referee's watch let him know the ball had crossed the line, there was some controversy around the goal however as Salah was shown to be offside when making the run which initiated the attack but the linesman's flag had stayed down and the goal was allowed to stand to allow Liverpool to go into the half time break on level terms despite the poor performance.
Nothing appeared to have changed in the 2nd half with Liverpool continuing to look second best when challenging for the ball, around the hour mark Jurgen Klopp had seen enough and decided to make a double substitution. It was a double swap which did raise a few eyebrows at the time as Trent Alexander Arnold was replaced at right-back by James Milner while Gini Wijnaldum came off for Jordan Henderson. Klopp has previously faced scrutiny for his in-game decision making but last time out against Spurs made changes that were key to the victory and for the second game in a row, the German Liverpool manager got it spot on. Despite looking like defensive changes the introduction of Milner and Henderson massively changed the game and from their introduction, Liverpool seemed more in control and the most likely side to go on and win the game.
Liverpool had a series of chances but Southampton managed to clear them with some desperate defending, they did seem to maintain a threat with the counter-attack and around the 80th minute managed to win a corner. The corner however set up a chance for Liverpool to launch one of their counter-attacks and despite going 8 games prior to this without a goal, Mo Salah charged forward with only one thing in mind and ultimately chipped the ball into the Southampton goal to give Liverpool the lead. It was a blistering breakaway when Henderson headed the ball clear to send the Egyptian way from inside their own half, Roberto Firmino sprinted forward alongside Salah providing him with the option to play him in but Salah took it on himself and ended the goal drought, you could clearly see how much it meant to him in his celebration for which he picked up a yellow card, but that won't matter to him as he finally ends the dry spell to score his 18th of the season and hopefully kicks off a new streak of goalscoring form.
The victory was sealed 5 minutes from time when Joel Matip played a long ball upfield for Firmino to chase, he managed to collect it wide inside the Southampton penalty box where he cut back inside and played a pass back inside. The ball made its way through the box falling nicely for Henderson to bury it into the back of the net giving Liverpool a 2 goal advantage and wrapping up the victory. It was gifted to him on a plate by the good play of Firmino however it was great to see Henderson grab the goal, he often gets criticised by fans who question what impact he has on the team and even whether he deserves a place in the squad, but there is no doubt about his impact on this game. The introduction of he and James Milner was the deciding moment of the game and they both played a huge part in grabbing the victory.
Both Liverpool and Manchester City are back in action on April 14th with City taking on Palace earlier that Sunday meaning Liverpool may once again find themselves needing to take back top spot with a win. It could well prove to be a pivotal weekend in the title race with Palace being one of the few sides to have beaten City this season while Liverpool host Chelsea, a team who infamously brought a previous title challenge to an end.