Keep your shirt, Man City! Liverpool refuses to race – John Cross

The end of the game celebrated a huge night in the title race.

One night when Liverpool proved that they did not give up, did not leave and were ready to fight to the end.

One night they climbed to the top of the Premier League table to remind Manchester City that they are still in this situation.

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

Salah's first goal since Feb. 9, Naby Keita's first goal for the club and, to top it off, Jordan Henderson's first since September 2017.

Fans on the go have chanted "Liverpool, the best in the league" and their beautiful seat would be enough to worry City in this exciting poker game where a single ticket would cost everything.

Liverpool was far from what was best in reality, the nerves weighed heavily on their shoulders at first, but they dragged on to get a huge result.

At the final whistle, coach Jurgen Klopp wildly celebrated on the pitch, applauding the roving fans, congratulating his players and giving Henderson a huge bear hug that says a lot about the outcome.

It is impossible to play at full speed every game, especially as Liverpool will also have a first leg in the quarterfinal of the Champions League in Porto on Tuesday.

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

They fell behind at St Mary's, just as they did at home in Burnley last month, but came back. They also beat Tottenham, Fulham and Bayern Munich after conceding demoralizing equalizers.

You can not question the mentality of this Liverpool team.

The club has not won the title in 29 years, but it's totally wrong to talk about the bottling because even though it's not doing it this year, it will have lost to a team yet more remarkable.

All Liverpool can do is continue to win, keep up the pressure and face all the challenges.

They had not started well, looked shaky but still came back. Southampton exposed early Liverpool weaknesses, but they showed a very good character – and will still need it in the last five finals of the Cup.

The local team, transformed under the new boss of Ralph Hasenhuttl, took advantage after only nine minutes when Ryan Bertrand put a center on a center of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Shane Long was out of scoring and had time to control the ball and then went home. .

This shook Liverpool, wavering in defense, lacking direction in the middle of the field and showing little cohesion in the front. Nathan Redmond, Bertrand and Hojbjerg were all around. But they dug deep to get back into the competition.

The TV broadcasts showed that Salah was just offside in preparing for the 35th-minute equalizer of Liverpool. But Trent Alexander-Arnold, with his eighth decisive pbad of the season, centered a center for Keita and his head beat goalkeeper Angus Gunn for his speed.

It was a memorable moment for the £ 53m midfielder. The shape and performance of Keita have been questioned this season, but this goal was priceless.

Liverpool put the pressure after halftime.

Keita screamed for a penalty after a Maya Yoshida challenge, but referee Paul Tierney dismissed the calls.

Attacks on visitors have become more frequent, the defense of Southampton more desperate.

Klopp changed it after 59 minutes to bring Henderson and James Milner to the post of Georginio Wijnaldum and, more surprisingly, Alexander-Arnold.

But the bet worked. They looked better and the old heads headed by the example. It was an inspiring change.

The second came from a Southampton corner.

Salah launched a quick counterattack, running 50 meters from his own half, almost unquestionably to the opposing penalty, before expelling a shot to give the visitors advantage.

He celebrated by taking off his jersey and winning a reservation, but that means he's reached 50 Premier League goals in just 69 games, even beating Fernando Torres. Only Alan Shearer (66) and Rudd van Nistelrooy (68) have taken this step faster.

The third and final objective owed much to Roberto Firmino's desire and pace of work. The Brazilian held the ball, then provided the center to Henderson to get home close.

It was a huge night for Liverpool, a vital victory and shows that they will fight to the end.