GOOD things come to those who wait.
And after Thiago and Liverpool buried some personal and collective demons, perhaps the “bad champions” will finish the season in the Champions League places after all.
The Spanish midfielder’s first goal for the Reds sealed a nervous victory against Southampton that could easily have been another night of Anfield agony.
Instead, Jurgen Klopp’s side kept a clean sheet at home for the first time since January and scored twice there in a league game again after a gap of nearly five months.
On that occasion, a late Roberto Firmino header gave them a win over Tottenham that kept them top of the Premier League.
Back then a successful title defence looked possible.
Right now, Liverpool are still officially champions of England.
But although that hard-worn crown will return to Manchester City in the coming days, if not hours, the battle for a top-four place has some time still to run.
When you’re looking for reasons for Liverpool’s dramatic fall from grace, the personal decline of Sadio Mane is a decent place to start.
Last season Mane was the main man in attack, providing plenty of goals, many of them vital, and terrifying opponents with his change of pace.
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If a chance came his way you expected him to hit the target and probably score.
Not anymore. When Alexander-Arnold found the Senegal forward with a lofted pass in the 10th minute, he made room inside Yannick Vestergaard but sent his shot well over the crossbar.
Mo Salah, on the face of it, has maintained his standards, reaching 20 league goals for the third time in four seasons.
Yet with better decision-making and finishing, he’d be notching 30-plus every year.
It sounds harsh for a man with his numbers, but that doesn’t make it untrue.
A case in point was when the ball broke to the Egyptian in the box and he elected to shoot with his swinger of a right foot, instead of pulling it back for Mane, and Fraser Forster saved.
But it’s Roberto Firmino who has taken the brunt of the criticism this season. Diogo Jota was again preferred to the Brazilian and duly completed a trio of missed chances by firing straight at Forster from a great position.
The Southampton goalkeeper then kept out another Salah effort and watched a Gini Wijnaldum header graze the crossbar.
So far, so Liverpool: creating opportunities, but failing to convert.
Team after team have punished them for such wastefulness, especially at Anfield, and Southampton almost did so on the half hour.
Alisson made a fine smothering save from Che Adams and then dealt with the Nathan Redmond follow-up.
Just 46 seconds later, the home side were in front. This time Salah made the right choice, clipping an inviting cross to the far post, and even Mane wasn’t going to miss with a header from that range.
Last season you’d have backed the Reds to go and win comfortably.
But on too many occasions they have failed to find the second goal – including in their previous two matches, 1-1 draws against Leeds and Newcastle.
When Salah had another good chance, he delayed his shot and Forster again denied him.
Nathan Tella should have sent Southampton into the break on level terms, only to head the lively Redmond’s cross straight at Alisson. A game that might already have been over looked anything but.
Liverpool started the second half on the front foot, although Forster’s only save was straightforward enough, from a near-post effort by Jota.
The chances dried up and the longer it stayed at 1-0, the more you thought the visitors would find an equaliser.
You can bet some of the home players thought so, too.
The last time they had scored more than once at Anfield in a Premier League game was wayback in December against Tottenham.
And only Crystal Palace have conceded more often in the final 15 minutes of games than the defending champions.
Before that period even began, Alisson had to be alert to block an effort by substitute Michael Obafemi with his legs.
A fine Jack Stephens block on Salah was followed by another Alisson save, from another Saints sub, Ibrahima Diallo.
The Liverpool goalkeeper was then guilty of another of those big errors that have crept into his game this season. He hit a clearance straight to Che Adams but kept out the resulting shot.
Saints did not threaten much after that, but the butterflies only disappeared when Thiago found the net from just outside the box.
And now they will be fluttering just that little bit more in the tummies of the Leicester players.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
