Mohamed Salah seals the points as Liverpool cruise past Southampton

In the end, Southampton’s support seemed unsure as to where they should direct their scorn. They had booed Virgil van Dijk throughout his return to the south coast, and merely grimaced at Sadio Mané’s incisive contributions. Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren would each be heckled during their own cameos near the end but, as the locals flooded away, it was Mauricio Pellegrino who shivered through the last rites of this defeat. The chorus of discontent at the final whistle told its own story.

There is no living with Liverpool on their travels at times, and their tally of 34 goals away from home this term is more than 11 clubs have managed in total. Yet, in succumbing to a sixth home defeat of the term, Southampton have sunk beneath the cut-off and into the bottom three, a team whose recent mini-revival still equates to a solitary league win since November. The FA Cup wins are rather deceptive. On a day when wins for Huddersfield and Newcastle caught the eye, the Saints wilted.

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