A 500 mile round trip down to Southampton, three days after Wednesday night’s Super League victory in Istanbul, is tiring. Thankfully it was a standard 3pm Saturday kick-off.
Liverpool looked understandably lethargic following the midweek 120-minute victory over Chelsea, which went to penalties in the Turkish heat.
The biggest concern was whether Adrian would be fit to play after being bizarrely injured by a pitch invader after Wednesday’s game, but thankfully he was available albeit a bit shaky.
However, the Reds were still able to claim three valuable points thanks to goals from Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino.
WOOOOWWW! 😱😱
Unstoppable Sadio 🚀 pic.twitter.com/25n2lR3DYT
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 17, 2019
Adrian’s late error, accidentally passing the ball to former Liverpool striker Danny Ings, gifted the Saints a late goal and gave us all a nervous final few minutes, but we held onto the lead and the 2-1 victory gave us three more valuable points.
It’s good to have Mané back to full fitness, after his late return from pre-season. His pace and creativity are going to be essential as we break down those tougher clubs this season.
Adam Bryant
