Ralph Hasenhuettl cries tears of joy as Southampton beat champions Liverpool

Ings' early strike secures Saints' first win over Liverpool in five years

SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Fraser Forster - 6. Called into the team because Alex McCarthy tested positive for Covid-19 and made the most of his chance. Dominated the area and made a good one-on-one save from Salah. AFP

Kyle Walker-Peters - 7. The 23-year-old was involved in a number of last-ditch clearances and held his own in the battle with Mane. He was a touch fortunate not to concede a penalty after tangling with the Senegalese. Reuters

Jan Bednarek - 7. The Pole neutralised any aerial threat and avoided being dragged out of position by Liverpool’s movement. A solid display. Reuters

Jack Stephens - 7. Strong defending from the Englishman. Made a superb sliding block when Mane looked poised to threaten the goal. EPA

Ryan Bertrand - 6. The 31-year-old had an easier night than he might have expected. He was unable to get forward much but was rarely troubled by Salah and Alexander-Arnold. Reuters

Stuart Armstrong - 7. The Scot was very busy in the midfield, pressing hard at every opportunity. He disrupted the opposition’s passing game. AFP

James Ward-Prowse - 7. The 26-year-old’s magnificent free kick set up Ings to score. The midfielder’s clever passing always contained a hint of threat. EPA

Ibrahima Diallo - 8. The Frenchman was full of running and gave the Liverpool midfield no room to manoeuvre. Produced a great block to cut out a dangerous Firmino cross just before Mane could pounce. EPA

Moussa Djenepo - 6. The Malian caused trouble by running directly at the defence but picked up an injury on one of his dribbles. Limped off after 32 minutes to be replaced by Tella. AFP

Theo Walcott - 6. The on-loan Everton forward took up good positions and ran hard but his end product did not live up to expectations. Withdrawn for Valery in the 82nd minute. EPA

Danny Ings - 8. A superb finish for the goal was the highlight against his former club. He made a difficult opportunity look easy. The striker held the ball up well when his team were under pressure. Substituted for N’Lundulu with 13 minutes to go. Reuters

SUB: Nathan Tella - 6. Replaced Djenepo after 32 minutes. Went close with a shot before half time but drifted out of the game for periods of the second half. EPA

SUB: Dan N’Lundulu - 5. On for Ings in the 77th minute. The 21-year-old saw little of the ball in the short time he was on the pitch. EPA

SUB: Yan Valery - 7. The Frenchman was brought on for Walcott for the last eight minutes to bolster the right side of the defence and almost scored a second goal on the break. EPA

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 3. The Brazilian’s distribution was poor and he looked uncertain at times, perhaps disconcerted by the changes in the defence. Little chance to stop the goal but an excursion outside the area late on nearly gave away a second. Reuters

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 3. Should have been more aware of the danger before the goal. Gave the ball away too often on one of his worst nights for some time. Withdrawn for Milner in the 76th minute. EPA

Jordan Henderson - 5. Did well in the role of auxiliary centre-back but was badly missed in midfield. The captain was vocal in his attempts to rally the side. AFP

Fabinho - 5. The Brazilian is much less secure without a dedicated centre-half beside him. Found it difficult to cope with the movement of Ings. EPA

Andrew Robertson - 6. The Scot ranged upfield but his deliveries were not up to the usual standard. At least he produced an element of threat. Reuters

Georginio Wijnaldum - 4. The Dutchman had too much ground to cover and could not establish dominance in the restructured midfield. He was unable to provide much creative input. EPA

Thiago Alcantara - 4. The 29-year-old had a dreadful start, giving away the free kick that led to the goal before getting booked. Did not cope with the press in the first half and failed to unpick the defence when Southampton dropped deep in the second period. EPA

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 4. Struggled to have any impact on the game. The 27-year-old cannot find a coherent role in the team since returning from injury. Replaced by Shaqiri before the hour mark. EPA

Mohamed Salah - 4. The Egyptian was unable to eke out space and chances. The supply lines were poor but so was the striker's performance. EPA

Roberto Firmino - 4. Managed to carve out one dangerous situation for Mane in the second half but the Brazilian was otherwise disappointing. EPA

Sadio Mane - 6. The brightest of the forwards. Lots of effort but little reward for the Senegalese striker. Wasted his best chance by shooting over the bar and scuffed another opportunity. AFP

SUB: Xherdan Shaqiri - 5. On for Oxlade-Chamberlain with 33 minutes remaining. Tried hard to make a difference but laboured without reward. Reuters

SUB: James Milner - 5. Joined the action with 13 minutes to go when Alexander-Arnold was taken off. Tried to get forward but was scythed down by Walcott. AFP

The National

Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhuettl shed tears of joy and collapsed to his knees at the final whistle after an early Danny Ings strike secured a shock 1-0 win over Premier League champions Liverpool.

The Austrian's emotional celebrations might have led some fans to think that Southampton had just secured the Premier League title.

But as wins over Liverpool are a rare occurrence for the Saints, with the last one coming in the league almost five years ago, it was an occasion to savour for Hasenhuettl who took charge of the south-coast club in 2018.

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"There were tears in my eyes - because of the wind!", Hasenhuettl jokingly told BBC Sport.

"When you see our guys fighting with everything they have, it makes me really proud. You need to have the perfect game against Liverpool and I think we did have that."

Hasenhuettl's team were forced to defend for long periods in the second half, and he admitted that it was deep into stoppage time before he felt that his side could get a result.

"It felt like we were under massive pressure and the defending around the box was the key today - then still try and play football. We did it in a good way," he said.

In contrast, his Liverpool counterpart Juergen Klopp was left extremely frustrated after his attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane failed to find the net despite dominating possession in the second half.

"What was disappointing? How long have we got?" he told the BBC. "The start, obviously, not only the goal but the start in general. Congratulations to Southampton, they deserved it."

The 53-year-old German said that his side knew what to expect from Southampton but were caught out in the opening exchanges and found themselves unable to recover.

"At the beginning, how we played, where we lost the balls - it's not rocket science. We should have done much better. We played into their hands with the start," he said.

"These are outstanding players, but they were not ready from the start."

Updated: January 05, 2021, 7:01 AM