Talking pointsTop-class Taki, Mr Dependable, the returning diamond and more

An impressive win on the south coast takes the Reds onto 89 points – one point adrift of Manchester City ahead of Sunday’s finale, when Jürgen Klopp’s side take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield and Pep Guardiola’s team host Aston Villa.

Here are five talking points to emerge from the action at St Mary’s Stadium…

Nine changes, three points

“We need 100 per cent desire, fresh legs, we need to be ready for a proper fight… in the moment when I did the line-up I got really excited about it.”

So said Klopp pre-match when explaining his decision to make nine changes to his starting line-up.

Only Alisson Becker and Ibrahima Konate retained their places from the energy-sapping Emirates FA Cup final success just three days earlier, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane joining Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in being omitted from the squad.

Klopp – who was forced into another alteration when Joe Gomez sustained an injury in the latter stages of the first half – also stressed Liverpool’s determination to ‘cause Southampton maximum problems’.

And, after shaking off the early setback of Nathan Redmond’s opener, his team did just that.

The Reds gradually cranked up the pressure until Minamino’s equaliser arrived, then largely dominated proceedings and earned a deserved and important three points courtesy of Matip’s header.

Top-class Taki

This represented Minamino’s first Premier League start for Liverpool since the 7-0 rout of Crystal Palace in December 2020.

The Japan international – who scored that day at Selhurst Park too, of course – marked his return to St Mary’s, where he spent the second half of last season on loan, with a superb goal.

Having played a vital role in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup wins by being the Reds’ leading scorer in both competitions, Minamino’s fierce 27th-minute strike took him onto 10 goals for the campaign in just nine starts.

And an assured all-round performance from the right of Liverpool’s front three belied the fact he had not featured in the top flight since the Anfield victory over Norwich City in February.

Mr Dependable

Following on from an excellent substitute appearance at Wembley on Saturday, James Milner came into the starting line-up at St Mary’s.

The vice-captain began the game in the No.6 spot, patrolling the space in front of Matip and Konate, and ended it at right-back, where he was redeployed after Gomez’s injury.

And, as per usual, he performed both roles with quality, diligence and authority to guide his team to a comeback victory that keeps his hopes of claiming a fourth Premier League winner’s medal alive.

The returning diamond

Minamino was not the only player who shone upon a long-awaited return to Liverpool’s starting line-up in the Premier League.

Harvey Elliott also excelled throughout a 65-minute display in which he buzzed and flitted and created from the right-hand side of the Reds’ midfield three.

The teenager had not been in a top-flight XI since the September afternoon at Elland Road when his early-season promise was stymied by a serious ankle injury, but he slotted back in seamlessly at St Mary’s.

“Harvey was in the first four games of the season the best player of Liverpool FC,” stated Klopp pre-match and the No.67’s performance here indicated that he will once again be a regular fixture sooner rather than later.

More Klopp landmarks

Matip’s winner was Liverpool’s 550th league goal overall under Klopp, with 250 of those having been scored away from home.

Victory in their final away match of the campaign made it 13 wins from 19 matches on the road in the 2021-22 Premier League.

That tally equals the club’s second-highest total in a single season (achieved previously in 1904-05, 2008-09 and 2018-19) and has only been surpassed once, by Klopp’s title-winning vintage of 2019-20 (14 wins).