SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuettl slumped to the ground, pulled down the bill of his cap, and wept after another big win for his team in the English Premier League.

On the receiving end this time were Liverpool, who also appear to be on their knees in what is shaping up to be the most open title races in years.

Danny Ings, a former Liverpool player, scored in the second minute to lead Southampton to a 1-0 win over the defending champions at the St. Mary’s Stadium on Monday.

Liverpool have gone three games without a win after back-to-back draws against West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United and lead on only goal difference from great rivals Manchester United, who have played one game fewer.

United aren’t the only team in striking distance of the lead approaching the halfway point of the league. Four points separate Liverpool from seventh-placed Everton, with 10th-placed West Ham only seven points off the lead in what was always going to be a disjointed season amid Covid-19.

Southampton are in the mix, too, their latest win lifting Hasenhuettl’s team to sixth place in a season when they have been top — albeit briefly — for the first time since 1988.

Few could have foreseen this sudden drop-off by Liverpool, who have failed to score in successive games for only the second time in Juergen Klopp’s five-year tenure.

Indeed, such has been Liverpool’s lack of cutting edge of late that Klopp’s team has managed just seven shots on target in the past three games. In the game before that, Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 7-0 away.

A first league defeat in three months may hasten Liverpool’s search for a centre-back in the January transfer window.

Without the injured Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, Klopp started two of his first-choice midfielders from their title-winning campaign, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, together at the heart of his defence.

Southampton had not scored in their last three games to temper their hopes of a push for European football, but took just two minutes to break the deadlock in style thr­ough former Liverpool striker Ings.

Trent Alexander-Arnold did not deal with James Ward-Prowse’s angled free-kick into the box and Ings perfectly hooked his shot over Alisson Becker into the far corner.

Southampton were missing the spine of their team, with first-choice goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (coronavirus), central midfielder Oriol Romeu (hamstring) and striker Che Adams (concussion) joining giant centre-back Jannik Vestergaard on the injury list.

Fraser Forster was making his first Saints appearance since May 2019, but the former England international was rarely tested to earn his clean sheet.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2021