Keep your shirt on, Man City! Liverpool just refuse to go away in title race

The away end celebrated a huge night in the title race.

A night when Liverpool proved they are not giving up, not going away and are ready to fight until the bitter end.

A night when they hauled themselves back to the top of the Premier League table as a timely reminder to Manchester City that they are still in this.

It was Mohamed Salah’s night, really. His late breakaway goal the turning point and his first in nine games to end a personal drought by his own remarkable standards.

Salah’s first goal since February 9, Naby Keita’s first for the club and, to cap it all, Jordan Henderson’s first since September 2017.

The travelling fans chanted, “Liverpool, top of the league” and them sitting pretty will be enough to worry City in this thrilling game of poker where one slip will cost everything.

Liverpool were far from their best in truth, the nerves weighed heavily on their shoulders early on, but they hauled themselves through it to get a huge result.

At the final whistle, manager Jurgen Klopp celebrated wildly on the pitch, milking the applause from those travelling supporters, high-fiving his players and then giving Henderson a huge bear-hug which spoke volumes for what this result means.

It is impossible to play at full throttle in every game, especially as Liverpool also have a Champions League quarter-final first leg away to Porto on Tuesday.

But their wonderful habit of never giving up is the reason they are top.

They fell behind here at St Mary’s, just as they did at home to Burnley last month, but came back. They also kicked on to win against Tottenham, Fulham and Bayern Munich after conceding demoralising equalisers.

You cannot question this Liverpool’s team mentality.

The club has not won the title in 29 years but any talk of them bottling it now is completely wrong because, even if they do not do it this year, they will have lost out to an even more remarkable team.

All Liverpool can do is keep winning, keep applying the pressure and responding to every adversity.

They did not start well, looked shaky but still came back. Southampton exposed Liverpool’s frailties, their weaknesses, early on, but they showed great character — and will need that again in the five remaining cup finals in this title race.

The home side, transformed under new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, went ahead after just nine minutes when Ryan Bertrand put over a cross, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg flicked on and Shane Long was unmarked and had enough time to control the ball then lash home from close range.

That rocked Liverpool, wobbling in defence, lacking direction in midfield and showing little cohesion up front. Nathan Redmond, Bertrand and Hojbjerg were all passing round them. But they dug deep to claw their way back into the contest.

TV replays showed Salah was just offside in the build-up to Liverpool’s 35th minute equaliser. But Trent Alexander-Arnold, with his eighth assist of the season, put over a cross for Keita and his header beat keeper Angus Gunn for sheer pace.

It was a memorable moment for the £53m midfielder. Keita’s form and performances have been questioned this season, but that goal was priceless.

Liverpool piled on the pressure after half-time.

Keita screamed for a penalty after a Maya Yoshida challenge but referee Paul Tierney waved away appeals.

The visitors’ attacks became more frequent, the Southampton defending more desperate.

Klopp changed it after 59 minutes, bringing on Henderson and James Milner for Georginio Wijnaldum and, more surprisingly, Alexander-Arnold.

But the gamble worked. They looked better and the old heads led by example. It was an inspirational switch.

The second came from a Southampton corner.

Salah launched a lightning counter-attack, running 50 yards from his own half almost unchallenged to the other penalty box before despatching a shot to put the visitors ahead.

He celebrated by taking off his shirt, earning himself a booking, but that means he has reached 50 Premier League goals in just 69 games, beating even Fernando Torres. Only Alan Shearer (66) and Rudd van Nistelrooy (68) have reached the milestone quicker.

The third and final goal owed much to Roberto Firmino’s desire and work rate. The Brazilian held the ball up, then provided the cross for Henderson to slam home from close range.

This was a huge night for Liverpool, a vital win, and one which shows they will fight until the end.