SOUTHAMPTON (Reuters) - 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.
“They were very important, especially after being down 2-1. It’s the most important thing to have won the game,” Salah told Sky Sports.
“Each game is different. They had a game plan and played very well. We managed to come back and win the game. I think we have a good game plan, we played our game and I was confident we would create chances.
“Man City is Man City. They have a bad time now but they have great players... We have a game against them so hopefully, we win it and go 11 points clear.”
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.