Match ends, Southampton 1, Liverpool 0.
Liverpool's Premier League title defence suffered a setback as they fell to defeat at Southampton on Monday.
Danny Ings' superb second-minute lob over Reds goalkeeper Alisson, from a James Ward-Prowse free-kick, settled the contest against his former club.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side, for whom this was a second league loss of the season, remain top of the table on goal difference but have taken only two points from the past nine available.
Both Manchester United and Manchester City will leapfrog the reigning champions if they win their games in hand.
Southampton's first win in five Premier League games sees them climb to sixth and brought an emotional response from manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who sank to his knees to celebrate taking points against a side led by Klopp for the first time.
And the hosts were good value for their victory, forcing the pace early on against an unfamiliar Reds backline containing Jordan Henderson, and then defending resolutely as the visitors poured forward after the break.
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Superb Saints
While Liverpool can point to the huge void at the heart of their defence and several injured stars, it should also be acknowledged that Southampton began this contest without several key performers.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy's positive coronavirus test meant Fraser Forster came in for a first Premier League home appearance since December 2017.
And with Jannik Vestergaard, Oriol Romeu and Che Adams also injured, Hasenhuttl could ill afford to see Moussa Djenepo limp off after 32 minutes, during which he had caused Trent Alexander-Arnold several problems down the left.
Initially at least, they continued to play in their normal style, trying to retain possession and work the ball into promising positions out wide.
Nathan Tella's curling, right-foot shot, after Ings had expertly cushioned the ball into his path, almost brought the reward of a second goal.
However, after the break it was very much a rearguard action from the Saints, with Kyle Walker-Peters, Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens making seven clearances each to repel wave after wave of Liverpool attacks.
That resilience was underlined by restricting the Reds to just one shot on target - a Sadio Mane effort in the 75th minute.
Rejigged Liverpool fail to spark
Before kick-off at St Mary's on Monday, Klopp had said he could be blamed if the decision to deploy Henderson alongside Fabinho, another midfielder, in defence did not work.
And privately, inside two minutes, the German must have wished that he had reconsidered his selections.
From their turquoise away kit, to their makeshift defence and a completely reworked midfield - in which Thiago Alcantara made his first start since the Merseyside derby on 17 October - there was an out-of-character feel to his team's performance.
They certainly looked a shadow of the side who had scored 12 goals and conceded just twice in their past four meetings with the Saints.
Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, so often attacking outlets on either flank, found the movement of Stuart Armstrong and Djenepo difficult to contain when asked to defend.
England right-back Alexander-Arnold was culpable for Ings' winner, failing to clear Ward-Prowse's floated free-kick, and eventually replaced by midfielder James Milner.
Premier League top scorer Mohamed Salah failed to have a shot on target, as did fellow forward Robert Firmino.
Mane, who was Liverpool's liveliest attacker, did see a claim for a penalty waved away when he went down under a challenge from Walker-Peters, but there was a noticeable lack of spark from a side who have now drawn a blank for a second game in a row.
'It's a perfect evening' - what they said
Southampton manager Hasenhuttl to BBC Sport: "There were tears in my eyes - because of the wind! When you see our guys fighting with everything they have it makes me really proud. You need to have the perfect game against Liverpool and I think we did have that.
"It felt like we were under massive pressure and the defending around the box was the key today - and then we still tried to play football. We did it in a good way.
"It was an intense game; my voice is nearly gone. The guys are tired, you have to be to win against such a team. The guys believed in what they were doing.
"It's a perfect evening."
Liverpool manager Klopp to BBC Sport: "What was disappointing? How long have we got? The start, obviously - not only the goal but the start in general. Congratulations to Southampton - they deserved it.
"You know exactly what you are going to get from them. You cannot be surprised but we looked surprised.
"It's not rocket science. We should have done much better. We played into their hands with the start.
"They put a lot of work in. Our decision making was just not good. That is how it is when you don't have momentum. We should have had much more chances.
"These are outstanding players but they were not ready from the start. Sadio Mane should have had a penalty tonight, and there was the handball - I've no idea.
"It's not an excuse for the performance, but you can get a point if they are given. Now we have to show a reaction."
Ings' earliest strike
- Southampton are the first team to beat all seven winners of the Premier League in the season after a title win.
- Liverpool have failed to score in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since May 2018.
- The Reds' first shot on target on Monday came in the 75th minute - their latest in a Premier League match since December 2015.
- After having eight shots on target in their 7-0 victory over Crystal Palace, Liverpool have managed just seven attempts on target in their last three league matches.
- Ings' opener for Southampton was his 50th Premier League goal, and the earliest he has ever scored in the competition.
- Southampton's Ward-Prowse has provided four assists in the Premier League this season - only in 2014-15 (six) has he had more in a top-flight campaign.
- Saints keeper Forster kept his first Premier League clean sheet since October 2017, though this was only his 13th appearance in the competition since then.
What's next?
Southampton are scheduled to face Shrewsbury in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday (20:00 GMT). They visit Leicester for their next Premier League match on 16 January (20:00).
Liverpool travel to Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup on Friday (19:45), before returning to league action on 17 January, when they host Manchester United (16:30).
Player of the match
IngsDanny Ings
Southampton
Avg
- Squad number9Player nameIngsAverage rating
8.54
- Squad number8Player nameWard-ProwseAverage rating
8.30
- Squad number2Player nameWalker-PetersAverage rating
8.21
- Squad number17Player nameS ArmstrongAverage rating
8.11
- Squad number5Player nameStephensAverage rating
8.07
- Squad number35Player nameBednarekAverage rating
8.00
- Squad number27Player nameDialloAverage rating
7.92
- Squad number3Player nameBertrandAverage rating
7.82
- Squad number32Player nameWalcottAverage rating
7.75
- Squad number44Player nameForsterAverage rating
7.67
- Squad number18Player nameValeryAverage rating
7.63
- Squad number23Player nameTellaAverage rating
7.62
- Squad number12Player nameDjenepoAverage rating
7.55
- Squad number40Player nameN'LunduluAverage rating
7.43
Liverpool
Avg
- Squad number10Player nameManéAverage rating
3.84
- Squad number26Player nameRobertsonAverage rating
3.72
- Squad number1Player nameAlissonAverage rating
3.63
- Squad number7Player nameMilnerAverage rating
3.45
- Squad number3Player nameFabinhoAverage rating
3.43
- Squad number6Player nameThiago AlcántaraAverage rating
3.32
- Squad number23Player nameShaqiriAverage rating
3.29
- Squad number5Player nameWijnaldumAverage rating
3.26
- Squad number14Player nameHendersonAverage rating
3.25
- Squad number9Player nameRoberto FirminoAverage rating
2.86
- Squad number15Player nameOxlade-ChamberlainAverage rating
2.81
- Squad number11Player nameMohamed SalahAverage rating
2.73
- Squad number66Player nameAlexander-ArnoldAverage rating
2.55
Line-ups
Southampton
Formation 4-4-2
- 44Forster
- 2Walker-Peters
- 35Bednarek
- 5Stephens
- 3BertrandBooked at 90mins
- 17S Armstrong
- 27Diallo
- 8Ward-Prowse
- 12DjenepoSubstituted forTellaat 32'minutes
- 9IngsSubstituted forN'Lunduluat 77'minutes
- 32WalcottSubstituted forValeryat 82'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Long
- 18Valery
- 20Smallbone
- 23Tella
- 29Vokins
- 31Ramsay
- 40N'Lundulu
- 41Lewis
- 72Chauke
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-ArnoldSubstituted forMilnerat 77'minutes
- 14Henderson
- 3Fabinho
- 26RobertsonBooked at 15mins
- 15Oxlade-ChamberlainSubstituted forShaqiriat 56'minutesBooked at 79mins
- 6Thiago AlcántaraBooked at 4mins
- 5Wijnaldum
- 11Salah
- 9Firmino
- 10Mané
Substitutes
- 7Milner
- 17Jones
- 18Minamino
- 23Shaqiri
- 27Origi
- 46R Williams
- 47Phillips
- 62Kelleher
- 76N Williams
- Referee:
- Andre Marriner
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home33%
- Away67%
- Shots
- Home7
- Away17
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away1
- Corners
- Home1
- Away10
- Fouls
- Home5
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Southampton 1, Liverpool 0.
Post update
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Jan Bednarek.
Post update
Attempt missed. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Andrew Robertson with a cross following a corner.
Booking
Ryan Bertrand (Southampton) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Jan Bednarek.
Post update
Offside, Southampton. Fraser Forster tries a through ball, but Daniel N'Lundulu is caught offside.
Post update
Foul by Sadio Mané (Liverpool).
Post update
Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Yan Valery (Southampton) right footed shot from long range on the right is blocked. Assisted by Jack Stephens.
Substitution
Substitution, Southampton. Yan Valery replaces Theo Walcott.
Booking
Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool).
Post update
Nathan Tella (Southampton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Thiago (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Post update
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Jan Bednarek.
Substitution
Substitution, Liverpool. James Milner replaces Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Substitution
Substitution, Southampton. Daniel N'Lundulu replaces Danny Ings.
Post update
Attempt missed. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Post update
Attempt missed. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri.
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Comments
Join the conversation
...So anyone bleating about Fenway’s squad crushing injuries are talking baloney.
Congrats to Ings for his superbly taken 50th PL goal & to the Saints for win that was no surprise against opposition that has been very poor of late
Southampton go from strength to strength, like Danny Ings hairline
🤣🤣🤣
Liverpool fans what happened to best team in world.
Well played Southampton 👌
What a great time to be a saints fan ⚽️
Fantastic result Saints. Well played.
PS where now for Klipperty Klopp?
Well done Southampton. Brilliant side, very strong defensively.
Btw TAA without crosses is Nathaniel Clyne- average and cannot defend. Title is leaning towards either us or United by the looks of it. The wheels are
falling off this Liverpool side.
#CTID
LFC look really out of sorts. Never seen so many sloppy balls. TAA giving the ball away a record number of times sums it up really. Need a reset.
As an LFC fan, well done Southampton.
Your boys took one hell of a beating.