In a crazy game at St Mary's, the Reds brought the curtain down on a disappointing season in remarkable fashion
Liverpool's strange season ended in fittingly strange fashion as they were held to a madcap 4-4 draw with Southampton at St Mary's on the final day of the Premier League campaign. Jurgen Klopp's side raced into a two-goal lead inside 14 minutes on the South Coast, Diogo Jota profiting from Romeo Lavia's loose pass before Roberto Firmino marked his final Reds appearance with a classy finish for 2-0.
But James Ward-Prowse pulled a goal back, and Kamaldeen Sulemana then squeezed a shot under Caoimhin Kelleher to level before half time. Sulemana had never scored for Southampton previously, but he did not have to wait long for his second, running from deep to net a 20-yarder early in the second period, and substitute Adam Armstrong added a fourth for Saints as he capitalised on Jordan Henderson's awful crossfield pass.
Liverpool, though, rallied. Cody Gakpo slotted in to make it 4-3 before Jota grabbed his second, smashing home Mohamed Salah's pass for the equaliser. GOAL rates Liverpool's players from St Mary's..
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher (5/10):
Poor for Southampton's equaliser, and not great for their fourth. Rusty.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):
Up and down. Defensively lacked intensity, but was very prominent in an attacking sense.
Joe Gomez (5/10):
Nowhere near commanding enough defensively.
Joel Matip (6/10):
The better of the two centre-backs.
Kostas Tsimikas (4/10):
Careless defensively and not much better going forward.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield
Fabinho (5/10):
Lacked presence and was left exposed by the spaces around him.
James Milner (5/10):
Struggled to get a grip on midfield after the first 15 minutes. Better at left-back second half.
Curtis Jones (5/10):
Always composed but didn't do enough with or without the ball.
Getty ImagesAttack
Mohamed Salah (5/10):
Frustrated for the most part, but set up Jota for the leveller. Had loads of chances of his own which he couldn't take.
Diogo Jota (7/10):
On hand to capitalise for the opening goal and smashed home to make it 4-4
Roberto Firmino (7/10):
Moment of class to make it 2-0, moment of sloppiness to help make it 2-2. Replaced early to a wonderful ovation from even the home fans. What a player.
Getty ImagesSubs & Manager
Cody Gakpo (6/10):
On hand to tap in and get it back to 4-3
Jordan Henderson (5/10):
Dreadful giveaway for the fourth goal.
Luis Diaz (6/10):
Bright without finding the final ball.
Harvey Elliott (7/10):
Made a difference off the bench, in an attacking sense. Looked really sharp.
Jurgen Klopp (5/10):
Will be glad to see the back of this season.