Match report and highlights as Roberto Firmino marked his final Liverpool game with a goal in a barnstorming 4-4 draw at relegated Southampton; Saints had fought back from 2-0 down to lead 4-2 at St Mary's Stadium
Monday 29 May 2023 09:19, UK
Southampton shared an eight-goal thriller with Liverpool as they bid farewell to the Premier League after an 11-year top-flight stay, bowing out with an enthralling 4-4 draw.
Saints' fate was sealed way before the final day, their relegation confirmed two weeks ago, but were intent on departing with a bang, fighting back from two goals down before going 4-2 up in a bonkers, but brilliant, 90 minutes of football.
Liverpool raced into a two-goal lead inside 14 minutes thanks to strikes from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino - the latter marking his fond farewell from the club with goals in back-to-back fixtures, having also rescued a draw at Anfield against Aston Villa last time out.
Arrears were reduced by James Ward-Prowse in the 19th minute, benefiting from a neat interchange between Kamaldeen Sulemana and Charly Alcaraz on the edge of the box before sweeping past Liverpool's deputy goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher.
Sulemana was located by Theo Walcott nine minutes later, finishing low to deceive Kelleher, as a topsy-turvy game continued to swing in a multitude of directions before even reaching its midway point.
Outgoing manager Ruben Selles must have delivered a rousing half-time talk because Saints re-emerged buoyant, stunning Liverpool with another Sulemana scalp - only his second goal since arriving in January - before Adam Armstrong found the net 49 seconds after entering the field from the substitute's bench.
Cody Gakpo delivered requisite reply for the visitors in the 72nd minute, tapping home from a sumptuous Trent Alexander-Arnold volleyed cross, paving the way for Jota to have the final say less than 60 seconds later.
Mohamed Salah released the Portugal forward, who left Lyanco in his wake before rifling emphatically into the top corner to level a frantic and wonderfully entertaining contest on the south coast.
"Great start. Top finish. In between completely chaotic," Jurgen Klopp summarised.
Liverpool blew a two-goal lead before battling back from 4-2 down to end an underwhelming campaign with a remarkable 4-4 draw at already relegated Southampton - an encounter fraught with fun, frolics and fragility.
The majority of goals were the making of naive defending, but the 'shackles off' approach was shared by both sides, with the outcome of the game ultimately academic.
Saints were consigned to the drop, while an unlikely fifth-place finish had already been secured by Klopp's side, leading to a facinatingly chaotic and frenetic encounter at a sun-drenched St Mary's.
Liverpool went close to leaving Hampshire with all three points after Salah inadvertently struck the far post and was denied by a fine stop from Alex McCarthy late on, but had to settle for extending their unbeaten league run to 11 games.
The Reds begun the day knowing they would miss out on a top-four finish for the first time since 2015-16, but were nevertheless typically bullish in their process, helped by some dreadful defending as Romeo Lavia gifted Jota the chance to roll the ball into an unguarded net in the 10th minute - Saints caught frivolously overplaying at the back.
Firmino swiftly doubled Liverpool's advantage, jinxing masterfully past Lyanco and Jan Bednarek, who were powerless to prevent the Brazilian marking his farewell appearance with a parting goal.
The response was impressive, a surprise to most inside St Mary's given Saints' disastrous home record, as captain Ward-Prowse unearthed a lifeline before Sulemana was slid through by Walcott, sneaking the ball under Kelleher to salvage parity and bring a breathless first half to a close.
Sulemana then stylishly completed Saints' superb turnaround two minutes into the second period, while Armstrong, one minute after replacing Lavia, intercepted Jordan Henderson's careless pass before angling a devilishly precise strike across goal to establish a 4-2 lead.
The drama did not end there, however, as Gakpo - a one-time Southampton target - then halved the hosts' lead by tapping home Alexander-Arnold's volleyed cross 18 minutes from time and Jota lashed Salah's pass beyond McCarthy moments later.
The scoring subsided. Hopes of a final day triumph abated. But unbridled enjoyment was had by all - bar possibly Klopp and Selles. "What can you make of a game like this? Except maybe it is entertaining for the people. Less so for us," the Liverpool boss concluded.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp:
"Great start. Top finish. In between completely chaotic. Too open. Invited Southampton for the counter-attacks. That sums the game up.
"It would have been possible to score eight today but also concede more. It's crazy. What can you make of a game like this? Except maybe it is entertaining for the people. Less so for us.
"We open the door for an opponent who wanted to enjoy their last occasion. If someone had scored a fifth no one would have been surprised. Top start, top finish, in between very average.
"We needed more width in the game. We needed to play in between the lines, we tried to force the ball through the centre. We weren't patient enough to find the play - the wrong balls in the wrong moments. We wanted to change that obviously.
"We will remind ourselves [over summer] we will do better, we have to do better. That's clear. I understand people are devastated about our season. We are really not happy about it. But you can't hold on to anger after such a turnaround. We didn't lose in 11 games.
"These last few weeks gave me a lot of energy. I am not ready for a holiday - I don't need it. I'll be busy, for me more on the phone. I'm happy to do that."
Southampton manager Ruben Selles:
"In two minutes we concede two goals, I think we can avoid this situation. We had a clear plan but then we concede two goals in the very beginning which we could easily not concede.
"We hurt them with penetrations and the team show there is something there. Some togetherness, some spirit and some willing to fight. It was good to prove we can still compete at this level.
"The team was always in the games - we have been competitive. Today we managed some key moments better."
Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:
It's been a sorry season for Southampton, characterised by a circus of commotion and erratic decision making. Three managers, a record number of games lost (25), a record amount of money spent and one relegation confirmed.
Sport Republic, Saints' relatively new majority share-owners, have assumed a controlling say over the operational running of the club in the last week - having promised to be 'hands off' in their approach when completing their takeover back in January 2022. Such a pledge, idealistic or otherwise, has since been rescinded.
Sport Republic co-founder Henrik Kraft originally said he does not intend "to start any revolutions". Presumably Kraft, now listed as 'Southampton FC chairman' on his personal LinkedIn page, did not imagine the mess that would transpire.
Harmony has eroded, replaced by distrust and disunity. So much so that Southampton's entire board have all been removed, bar one (Toby Steele) who is currently serving out his notice.
Much less a revolution, more a complete overthrow. Identity all but lost.
Unsurprisingly, disillusion on the south coast is rife. Fans have been worn down by the perceived mismanagement of their club, with St Mary's becoming a place to mourn rather than rejoice. Current manager Ruben Selles, a mere placeholder, is also set to depart.
Southampton are winless in their last 13 Premier League games (nine losses), their longest run since 1989. It's going to take a monumental effort to turn such declining form around in the Championship - presuming much of Saints' existing talent will follow high-ranking staff members out the exit door this summer.
There are 68 days between the end of the Premier League season and the start of the new Championship campaign. Better dust off the drawing board.
Sky Sports' Richard Morgan:
There can be no disguising the fact that Liverpool's fifth-placed finish this season, to quote star man Mohamed Salah, has been a "failure" for Jurgen Klopp and his players after they came within two games of an historic Quadruple just 12 months ago.
The exertions of playing 63 matches in total and going head-to-head with champions Man City all the way to the final few seconds of the previous campaign seemed to drain the energy from the Reds, who after a shortened preseason, failed to win any of their first three Premier League games.
In fact, incredible as it sounds, Liverpool never once found themselves occupying a top-four berth in the entire season and not even a 1-0 win over City at Anfield in October could revive their faltering campaign as losses at newly-promoted Nottingham Forest, then at home to struggling Leeds United soon followed.
The Reds went into November's World Cup seven points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur in fourth and hoping that the unique mid-season break would give them the chance of a reset by resting tired bodies and minds, before the action resumed the following month.
That proved a false hope as after two unconvincing wins against Aston Villa and Leicester City to get proceedings under way again at the end of the year, their season reached a new low with sobering defeats at Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers by an aggregate scoreline of 9-1.
Those one-sided, lethargic setbacks proved the turning point in the campaign for Klopp, who by now had nothing to lose as the season spiralled out of control and Liverpool slipped to 10th in the table, 11 points off the top four.
With a rare full week of training in the international week at the end of March, the German began working on Trent Alexander-Arnold's new hybrid role and with new ideas, came new energy as the Reds finished the season strongly.
However, it was too little, too late in terms of qualifying for next season's Champions League. In the end, Liverpool's dreadful away form - they lost eight times on the road, compared to just twice last time out - compounded by losing more players to injury than any other top-flight side, cost them dear as Klopp finished outside the top four for the first time (in a completed campaign) while in charge at Anfield.
But when you manage to collect 25 points less than you picked up the previous campaign, that is not surprising.
The Premier League season will kick-off on August 12 and conclude nine months later on May 19, 2024.
The start is one week later than the 2022/23 launch as the schedule returns to normal following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which provided disruption during the previous three seasons.
However, the fixture list provides for a return of the mid-season player break which will take place between January 13-20.
Fixtures for the new Premier League season will be revealed at 9am on Thursday June 15 and you can follow the announcements on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms.
