How Lucas dominated on his return
There is only one stat that really matters in football - the final score. But here at Liverpoolfc.com we know supporters love to delve through the facts and figures after each game, so we're allowing you to do just that with the help of Opta.
And the stats from Lucas Leiva's return against Southampton emphasise how the Brazilian slotted effortlessly back into the side after a three-month absence, as he dominated possession and won his share of challenges.
To make things a little clearer we have broken down the statistics from the Reds' 1-0 win over the Saints into sections which outline how both sides fared in terms of possession, how they rated defensively and going forward.
Distribution
In the defensive-midfield role behind Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen, Lucas touched the ball more times than any other player on the field (101 times) and played more passes (88) than any other player.
This bucks the recent trend in which Allen has played the most passes from the deeper position for the Reds. On Saturday, however, the returning No.21 hit twice as many balls than the Wales international, who played further up the field and made 37 passes.
Of the 22 players who played the full 90 minutes at Anfield, it was the goalscorer and match-winner Daniel Agger who recorded the best pass accuracy.
The Dane struck 65 passes out from the back at a 95.4 per cent completion rate, meaning he found a Liverpool shirt with 62 of his knocks.
Close second to him was Nathaniel Clyne of Southampton, who had a pass accuracy of 93.8 per cent, but hit significantly less passes (16).
Defence
Not only did Lucas see more of the ball than any other player on the park, he also showed no signs of slowness or trepidation when it came to launching himself into challenges, even after a three-month absence.
The 25-year-old went in for eight tackles throughout the 90 minutes and emerged with possession from seven of them, clearing the ball to safety once.
Glen Johnson saw plenty of the ball on the day, taking 88 touches, and the full-back went in for three tackles, winning them all and making five clearances to help the Reds maintain a clean sheet against the Saints.
Southampton's defence were much busier than Liverpool's when it came to clearing the danger at the back. Between them Maya Yoshida and Jose Fonte hooked the ball clear on 19 occasions.
Yoshida attempted to dispossess a Liverpool opponent five times during the 90 minutes; however the Japan international won just one tackle.
Attacking
As has been the case in plenty of games for the Reds this season, Luis Suarez registered more shots on goal than any other player on the park. The Uruguayan fired five at Paulo Gazzaniga's goal.
However, on Saturday, he was aided by wingers Raheem Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey, who were just behind him in the strike tally with two and three shots on goal respectively.
But Liverpool's winning goal came from defender Daniel Agger, who towered above the Saints' back-four, twisted and powered a Johnson cross into the top corner of Gazzaniga's goal to seal the points for the Reds.
It was Agger's only shot on goal during the game and it was decisive; however, his defensive partners were also keen to clinch a goal against Nigel Adkins' side.
Skrtel, Enrique and Johnson each fired three shots on goal. The Reds' Spanish full-back sent two of his efforts on target while Johnson tested Gazzaniga with one of his.