Liverpool's Unbeaten Run Stop By Southampton

Before the game, all the talk was of Liverpool winning the title. At the final whistle, there was only jeers. Dejan Lovren’s header might have wrecked the Reds’ unbeaten start to the season, but it was the manner of the defeat that really punctured the inflated air of optimism hanging around Anfield. Southampton deserved their victory. Mauricio Pochettino’s men held Liverpool at arm’s length at one end and, at the other, they carried a continuous threat. And while Brendan Rodgers afterwards lamented the loss through injury and suspension of Luis Suarez, Coutinho, Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho, his decision to play four centre-backs strung out across his back-four also played a big part in ­Liverpool’s downfall. There was an early chance for the home side, but Jordan Henderson opted for placement rather than power and clipped his shot too close to Saints keeper Artur Boruc. But from then on, Brendan Rodgers’ side struggled to assert any kind of authority in the face of the visitors’ high-tempo pressing game