Liverpool will have been hungry for a win going into this clash with 16th placed Southampton. Since their title race rivals, Manchester City, have a game in hand, Jurgen Klopp and his men understood the importance of getting off to a good start.
Virgil van Dijk returned to the squad giving his side a boost, but even he wasn't enough to stop Southampton from pulling off the perfect start.
Southampton had started the match sitting back in defence but were lively in possession too. This was encapsulated by Ryan Bertrand's pace down the left flank as he chipped a ball into the box. The Liverpool defence failed to deal with it and Shane Long found himself with the ball at his feet just yards out from goal. There wasn't a lot that Alisson could do to stop Long's rocket of a shot.
Liverpool responded well to going 1-0 down so early in the game by continuing to pressurise the home side in the box. Salah lofted a beautiful ball across the box for Mane to meet with a beautiful header. Had it not been for the Southampton keeper's strong left hand, Mane would have had the equaliser for Liverpool.
It was Jurgen Klopp's side who enjoyed the majority of possession and the manager was urging his side to do something with it. However, it was Southampton who looked more threatening when the managed to get on the ball. Bertrand, Hojbjerg and Long were the Saints' playmakers and they looked dangerous on the counter.
Liverpool continued to apply pressure which paid off in the 36th minute as Naby Keita fired home an equaliser for the Reds, who were in fact playing in purple. Southampton fans weren't pleased as Mo Salah was offside in the build up but the linesman didn't spot it and Liverpool continued to display some real flare and skill before Alexander-Arnold curled a cross in for Keita to smash home with his head. Situations like that are exactly what fuels the VAR debate.
One minute of added time saw us into the break and all the momentum was with Liverpool after their equaliser. Southampton would hope to use the break as an opportunity to turn things around and put an end to Liverpool's force. While Jurgen Klopp and his men would want to continue their pressure and come out for the second half even hungrier in their quest for the Premier League trophy.
The start of the second-half certainly didn't continue in the same way as the first-half finished. Southampton found themselves back in possession for extended periods of time, pushing Jurgen Klopp to make the decision to bring both Jordan Henderson and James Milner onto the field of play.
It proved to be a good decision as Henderson slotted in between Salah and Mane to facilitate their access into the Southampton box. Liverpool only required that final touch of finesse to be through on goal but Southampton held up strong.
Soon afterwards, Southampton began to settle into a rhythm and Liverpool looked desperate. Approaching the 10 minutes to go mark, Jurgen Klopp was getting increasingly frustrated with his players who couldn't find that final touch of finesse to send the ball goalwards.
That was until Liverpool displayed exactly why they are in the Premier League title race, after constructing the perfect counter attack. Southampton had their second corner in a row and looked dangerous. Liverpool responded in the best way possible as Henderson set Salah free to chase down a second Liverpool goal surrounded by defenders.
No matter, for the Egyptian who ended his goal drought with a spectacularly skilful finish to give Liverpool the lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Southampton really started to collapse under Liverpool's resurgence, which was proven perfectly by the ease with which Liverpool could pick the Saints apart. Virgil van Dijk lofted a beautiful ball up-field to find Firmino. There was still a lot of work to be done but the Liverpool number '9' had no trouble finding Henderson who came charging into the box to slam it past Gunn.
Overall, despite some shaky periods, Liverpool proved their worth by unpicking Southampton who are now flirting with the relegation zone. Liverpool reclaim their spot at the top of the table, but are only two points clear of City who have a game in hand. No time to slow up their title chase!