SOUTHAMPTON, England — Premier League leaders Liverpool beat bottom side Southampton 3-2 on Sunday to build a sizeable eight-point lead over reigning champions Manchester City after Mohamed Salah led a second-half comeback for the visitors.
Liverpool were trailing 2-1 when Salah scored twice in the second half to take his season’s tally to 10 goals in the league, two behind the league’s top scorer Erling Haaland of City.
After City lost their third straight league game on Saturday, a 4-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool took full advantage and Arne Slot’s side now have 31 points from 12 games to City’s 23 ahead of their clash at Anfield next weekend.
Southampton shot themselves in the foot when they tried playing out from the back and under Liverpool pressure, Flynn Downes’s pass fell to Dominik Szoboszlai at the edge of the box and the unmarked midfielder fired home to make it 1-0.
However, Southampton received a lifeline minutes later when Andy Robertson tripped Tyler Dibling on the edge of the box and the referee pointed to the spot, with VAR upholding the decision even though the contact was made just outside the area.
Although Adam Armstrong had his spot kick saved by Caoimhin Kelleher, the forward pounced on the rebound to equalize with his third goal in four games for Southampton. — Reuters
