NB: Video on this article has been removed in accordance to international license restrictions.
By Greg Robertson
Hello football fans and welcome to St Mary’s Stadium where we have Premier League sides do battle, Southampton hosting Liverpool.
Liverpool will be keeping their slim chances alive of sneaking into the top four by picking up 3 points here.
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LIVE COMMENTARY...Southampton 3 – 1 Liverpool
Halftime: Southampton 3-1 Liverpool
FULLTIME - Southampton 3 - 1 Liverpool 1. ALL VIDEO UP.
90+1 MINS: A Liverpool free kick sees them sweep the ball forward through Johnson, then Lucas, Coutinho, Gerrrad... and then back again... Johnson with some great work gets beyong Do Prado, looks up and stands it up to the back post but Enrique volleys wide. Three minutes of added time. Suarez booked for chasing the keeper around.
88 MINS: Liverpool looks resigned to the fact they will lose this one. Heads are down...
82 MINS: Rodriguez GOAL for Southampton! A goal for Premier League survival and fine in every respect. he picked up the ball about 49 yards out and just kept dribbling. Past all, shoots and Jones stops it the first time but the follow up is tucked away neatly. The gap opened up and Rodriguez just kept on going. VIDEO UP.
78 MINS: Scgneiderlin drifts into the box, they hold off... he drives to the line then blasts it square and sharp, blocked by Johnson, though that bullet more hit him in the chest. Good work from both. VIDEO UP. Jones with a big save! Lallana through and on goal, tries the flick over him as he slides but Brad Jones gets enough of it to stop it heading into the net. VIDEO UP.
73 MINS: Gerrard with a ball in a good save from Boruc. He demanded it and glided through a maze of players to claim. 32,000 off is a appreciated it at St Mary's. That's an EPL record for them.
68 MINS: Southampton are mounting some pressure. A scramble from a corner had Liverpool defenders and just prior, Clyne had smacked a cross that flirted across the face of the goal, Skrtl couldn't reach it and Johnson rushed to clear it.
64 MINS: Suarez is caught by Clyne. Both backing up after checking runs, Suarez goes over with Clyne's hand clearly holding his shirt. Clever by Suarez, he's won the free kick from a ball he would have never got to. Suarez takes it, bends it over the wall and thuds into Boruc's chest after a skip from the wet surface.
61 MINS: Jones calls for it, and comes for it and punches it with a right glove. It was glancing, but he got enough of the Davis corner to clear the danger.
58 MINS: The ball just gets a little away from Suarez. He's been a little off today but it's hard to keep that sort of intensity up week in and week out I'm sure. Had he controlled well, he would have looked up to the Boruc and a teasing net.
55 MINS: Sturridge scuffs one wide with his right. That came after Gerrard delivered the corner then got another chance to lop it in. Ramirez off and Davis has come on.
53 MINS: Rodriguez wriggles inside the penalty area but Agger is stern in defence, wins then clears. Thirty seconds later, Liverpool win a corner.
50 MINS: Just settling in... trying to get the passing going. Rain now falling. Didn't this one start out in sunshine?
48 MINS: this has been nothing shown by any chances, but you get the feeling this is a different Liverpool this half. They're winning challenges, and the ball - no better example as the Coutinho goal - is falling for them. Stern words at halftime?
46 MINS:Allan off and Lucas on for Liverpool. Gerrard will play a little higher.
35+1 MINS:GOAL Coutinho! Liverpool are back in business. It's a scramble and Coutinho stabs it home. VIDEO UP SOON. That was a little bit of luck, Sturridge getting the ball, turning and shooting and it fell right to Coutinho.
42 MINS: But the Southampton waves keep coming, this time it's Lallana that can't quite get it out from under his feet to hit the target. It's lovely play from the home side. They are rampant.
39 MINS: Coutinho one-on-one with Boruc - saved! He got around the back and was onside and took his time, but the keeper spread and was the hero on this occasion. VIDEO UP. Great through ball from Johnson.
39 MINS: Rodriguez brings the ball down brilliant as it's fired to him from distance, he pulls it down at full stretch with his right leg then quick feet and it skirts past the right-hand upright. For a moment it was destined for the corner. VIDEO UP.
38 MINS: Oh Lambert gets away down the left and runs it along the by-line, chips deftly for Lambert at the back post but it's too heavy for Rodriguez back post. Sweeping play upfield for Liverpool ends with Sturridge squaring sharply in search of Agger. It's cut out by sliding defenders.
34 MINS: GOAL! Jones beaten by a nick from a freekick from Lambert... yep, it comes off Johnson's leg who was in the wall. Southampton leads 2-0. VIDEO UP. The free kick was given away by Skrtel who was all over Lambert when both were looking to head, some 30 yards out.
30 MINS: A little bit of an injury break for the Southampton's Dutchamn Hooiveld who is now coming off and being replaced by Fonte.
26 MINS: This match is very open in terms of the play. Downuing with some space down the right fopr Liverpool has a crack at Shaw, Gerrard now spreads it to Allen, it's delivered and the pairing up front for Liverpool miss the chance and end up just looking at each other saying, "Yours".
22 MINS: OHHH should have been a goal to Southampton. It fell nicely for Rodriguez after Shaw had a chance, and he just needed to turn and fire it into the net but spun and fired it over the top. VIDEO UP. Ohhh another chance, this time Ramirez from point blank range is wide. VIDEO UP. Great ball in from Ramirez that was
20 MINS: Suarez looks a little off today... he'll probably score three now inside five minutes after I've said he's off. He just look his tenacious self.
17 MINS: Clyne wins a corner as he scoots down the right-hand flank. Liverpool just not in this... Sturridge half clears, Shaw fires it back in... it's another shot and Jones gets down to it. No massive danger but it's one way traffic right now. That shot was from Gaston Ramirez. Then it's Rodriguez with the shot and Jones saves, but not clean. It's raining shots on the Liverpool net. VIDEO UP
12 MINS: Liverpool just trying to get hold of the ball and play their midfield into the game... they haven't had a lot of the ball yet and it's heavily swung toward the home side is the possession.
9 MINS: It's Southampton now asking all the questions. Ohhh Lambert is onside and it's one-on-one with Brad Jones... what's he up to? He takes too much time and ends up smacking it straight at the Liverpool keeper. Great chance gone, should have been two-nil. VIDEO UP.
6 MINS: GOAL SOUTHAMPTON. A little side foot gives Reina no chance. VIDEO UP. It was Scgneiderlin who scores it after Rodriguez heads it down to him just on the edge of the six yard box. It's just a deft touch but they all count.
4 MINS: Nice wee period of attack for the home side ends with Rodriguez and time, he pulls the trigger but it's deflected off Skrtel.
3 MINS: Sturridge finds Suarez, and Suarez looks to find him back but Southampton scrambles to put it out for a corner. The ball's delivered and it's a scramble in the box, everything calming down when Sturridge is found offside. Good start for the visiting side.
1 MINS: We're off in strong sunshine....
Suarez is on fire and you can imagine that form just might continue today for Liverpool. Liverpool fans letting off smoke bombs in protest of next year's ticket prices at Anfield.
About 10 minutes to kick off in this one... and news that Manchester City has lost 2-0 to Everton will spur everyone who is chasing behind them on the EPL table. United out in front, well, very happy no doubt.
Kick off is not far away, but while you are waiting for football match video watch Liverpool score a 3-2 win against Tottenham.
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Possible teams
Southampton: Boruc, Shaw, Yoshida, Fonte, Clyne, Scgneiderlin, Cork, Rodriguez, Lallana, Ramirez, Lambert. Subs - K Davis, Richardson, Forren, Hooiveld, Ward-Prowse, Chaplow, S Davis, Do Prado, Puncheon, Mayuka.
Liverpool: Reina, Enrique, Agger, Carragher, Johnson, Downing, Lucas, Gerrard, Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge. Subs - Jones, Gulacsi, Wisdom, Coates, Skrtel, Henderson, Shelvey, Allen, Sterling, Suso
Pregame banter
Liverpool and manager Brendan Rodgers will be looking to continue their fine recent form in the English Premier League, when they travel to Southampton after the Ulsterman spoke to the press in Liverpool, England.
Victory over Tottenham last weekend made it three successive English Premier League wins for Liverpool for the first time since May 2011.
The result moved Brendan Rodgers's side to within two points of Arsenal, in fifth, and seven adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, although both clubs have a match in hand.
Understandably, there is talk in some quarters of Liverpool securing one of the four Champions League berths - Rodgers preferred on Thursday to remain focused on the trip to the south coast of England and a meeting with a resilient but struggling Southampton team.
After a sluggish start to the 2012-13 campaign, Liverpool have enjoyed an excellent second half of the season - with striker Luis Suarez in exceptional form.
"Not thinking about it (securing Champions League football next season), to be honest. Our only focus is Southampton. You know, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. Our concentration and our focus in the second part of the season has been outstanding and we had really tough game mentally and physically against Tottenham who have proven why they are one of the top teams. Brilliant result for us and really this week has been about getting refocused again and energised for a really tough game against Southampton and after that, as I said, that is the only thought (the game against Southampton),” says Rodgers.
"But over all, it (the game at Southampton) will be a very difficult game for us. Especially as they are at home because they have played very well, especially against the top teams. You see the game against Manchester City and even the defeat against Manchester United was a tough game at home ... the Arsenal game. So they are a team that will push us for sure and we'll need to be at our best to get the result,” he says.
(Questioned on Liverpool's excellent form in the second half of the season) "I have an inherent belief in the way we would work that the success would come and I think that always over time, that will grow. And it's, as I said, that is what has happened. But we certainly won't be getting carried away. In this period now, the second part of the season we have kicked on like I though we would. But we have to retain our focus and our concentration and make sure that every single day we are prepared and working hard and if we do that, we have got the quality to get the results."
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