Analysis: Liverpool

Liverpool set up in a 4-2-3-1 for the first time this season, with Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum operating as the deep-lying midfielders. Sadio Mane played on the right of the attacking midfield trio, with Roberto Firmino on the left and Xherdan Shaqiri, making his first start since signing in the summer, in the number 10 position. Mo Salah led the attack.

The Reds offered regular rotation between all three units in the team when in possession – this was carried out in an attempt to move the Southampton players out of their mid-block slots and create gaps to penetrate. While rotating, it was important that they still had players stretching the pitch horizontally and vertically, in order to facilitate a switch of play if the immediate path through remained blocked.

In central midfield, Henderson tended to stay deep to provide security in front of centre-backs Virgil van Dijk (later replaced by Joe Gomez) and Joel Matip, while allowing full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to surge forward. Wijnaldum was much more dynamic; he could regularly be seen making runs beyond Firmino to offer a threat in behind.

At centre forward, Salah similarly looked to threaten the space in behind to encourage the Southampton back line to retreat – this could potentially increase the space between the defensive and midfield lines, allowing Shaqiri to operate in the pockets and receive the ball on the half-turn to play forward. It might be a concern to Klopp that this high level of movement and rotation only yielded five shots on target throughout the game. Fortunately, three of these found the back of the net.

Interestingly, Klopp opted to replace the influential Shaqiri – who had played a key role in the first and third goals – with James Milner at half-time. Unconvinced by the defensive performance of his side in a 4-2-3-1 system during the opening period, Klopp reverted to a familiar 4-3-3 structure for the second half.

The Reds operated in a 4-4-1-1 mid-block out of possession during the first half. Mane and Firmino would tuck in with Henderson and Wijnaldum to form a midfield line of four, while Shaqiri sat just ahead of them. The idea here was for Shaqiri and Salah to encourage the ball out to one side of the pitch and try to shut off the other. The ball going into full-backs Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand, or Nathan Redmond and Matt Targett further up, was a trigger for Liverpool to attack with three players: the full-back and wide midfielder on that side, together with either Shaqiri or Salah.

When they switched to a 4-3-3 in the second half, they operated out of possession as they have done for most of the season: fleeting between a mid-block and a high press. Due to their dominance throughout the contest, though, they rarely pressed with significant intensity in what was a sixth Premier League victory out of six for Liverpool.