Liverpool's mentality was crucial, says relieved Klopp
Liverpool had to wait until the final 10 minutes to secure victory at Southampton, leaving Jürgen Klopp to credit his team's resolve.
Jürgen Klopp hailed Liverpool's determination after his team came back from a goal down to secure a vital 3-1 win away to Southampton on Friday. The Reds fell behind to Shane Long's early opener at St Mary's Stadium, equalising courtesy of Naby Keita's 36th-minute header.
But it took until a blistering counterattack with 10 minutes remaining for the visitors to take the lead, Mohammed Salah carrying the ball from the half-way line before beating Angus Gunn to end his goal drought and reach 50 Premier League strikes for Liverpool in record time. Jordan Henderson then added a third with four minutes to go, leaving Klopp's side in first place, two points clear of Manchester City.
Klopp cheers Liverpool comeback
"Mentality, huh? It's brilliant," he told a news conference. "We come here and we know Southampton is a really different side since [manager] Ralph [Hasenhuttl] is in [charge] and we know it. Everybody expects [us to win] and we need three points and we know how difficult it is, and you saw it. And then we scored these two world-class goals, what can I say? Super goal from Mo [Salah], super run, Bobby [Roberto Firmino] is so important to make the run - he [almost] didn't play because the ankle was not good - fantastic finish. Then Bobby again chasing pretty much the whole world and makes a one-v-one situation, super pass, 3-1. It was, of course, close but that was clear from the first second, I would say. I think everybody who comes here in the future will feel that, it makes it even more satisfying and brilliant that we could win."
Salah back among the goals
Salah had not found the back of the net in any competition for Liverpool since a 3-0 win over Bournemouth on February 10, and the Egyptian cut a defiant figure as he removed his shirt to celebrate in front of the jubilant away fans.
"It was never in doubt about [Salah] being a great player from my side," Klopp said. "It was goal No. 50 for Liverpool [in the Premier League] – that's an incredible number. As a striker you have chances, each striker is a human being as well, maybe you have better moments and less good moments. But he is pretty consistent, his physical things are always there, but it's normal [to experience a dry spell]. He stayed always calm to deal with the situations around us. If it's a big thing [to others] we don't really care about it, but it's a nice moment for his first goal for a while, a really good moment."