Saints' Danny Ings' Early Goal Dealt Blow To Liverpool's Unbeaten Run

Danny Ings' early goal against Liverpool snatched a 1-0 victory for Southampton causing a setback for the Reds' title defense as they are now level on points (33pt) with the closest team, Manchester United. Reds have remained unbeaten since losing to Aston Villa in October.  

Saints' manager Ralph Hasenhutti could not hold back his tears at the sound of the full-time whistle on the team's home win against Liverpool that ended their winless run of four league games. 

Ing seized a chance from James Ward-Prowse's free-kick and lobbed a well-intended shot in flight over Allison into the net, setting Saints on the winning path in just seconds after the kick-off. Nathan Tella later followed with an attempt to double the lead lashing a curled shot that missed by inches. 

"There were tears in my eyes - because of the wind!" said Ralph afterward. "When you see our guys fighting with everything they have it makes me really proud. "

Ralph also praised the team for having almost what he could describe as a "perfect game" which he believes is needed for a team to beat opponents such as Liverpool.

Reds could not salvage the game when Mo Sallah came closest to getting an equalizer with a header that went over the bar from Sadio Mane's cross. It ended up to be the first league game defeat that the Reds would endure without scoring since May 2018.