AGENCIES

Frustration was written all over Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s face when miscommunication allowed lowly Southampton to score first in the Reds’ 3-1 victory on Saturday, and Mohamed Salah said the manager gave the team an earful about it at halftime.

Salah scored twice from the penalty spot -- extending his goal tally to 32 across all competition along 22 assists -- and Darwin Nunez also struck in the victory, but all three Liverpool goals came after the break.

Will Smallbone had stunned the Anfield faithful with a goal from bottom club Southampton in first-half injury time, capitalising on miscommunication by goalkeeper Alisson and centre-back Virgil van Dijk, and the television camera caught Slot, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension for a recent red card at Everton, in the stands holding his head in both hands.

Slot’s pep talk in the break seemed to do the trick.

“It was a bit of frustration, his head was going for us,” Salah told Premier League Productions about Slot’s halftime speech. “It is something you need sometimes.

“We were sloppy and slow in the first half. I don’t think we played good today. If you want to win the Champions League or Premier League you have to win these games like that.”

Liverpool, who have just one Premier League loss in this remarkable season, extended their lead atop the table provisionally to 16 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, who have two games in hand.

“It’s a sign of a good team, that you can win in different ways,” Slot, who made three halftime substitutions, told the BBC.

“I had to change because of work rate. I don’t think that happened a lot this season. So it was a poor performance first half. Not only in the way we played but definitely also in the energy we brought. I don’t think they ran at all. I exaggerate a bit but they saved their energy.”