Liverpool vs Southampton: Mane equaliser leaves Klopp waiting for first win as Reds manager

So the wait goes on. Three games in and Jurgen Klopp has an unbeaten record but a trio of draws was not the way he would have envisaged opening his Liverpool career. After a stalemate at Tottenham and against Rubin Kazan, a routine home fixture against Southampton would have been seen by Klopp as the ideal chance to get some momentum into his reign but old habits are proving to shake off for the team he has inherited.

For a short period it seemed as if Christian Benteke’s towering header would give Klopp the win he craved but malfunction in Liverpool’s defence as the final whistle loomed allowed Sadio Mane, who ended up being sent off, to extend his hot streak and secure a point.

Anfield can be one of the most formidable venues in football, a cauldron with noise levels that scramble the senses, but when it is quiet as it was for most of the opening 45 minutes it becomes a challenging place for the home team to play. The more that this accomplished Southampton side settled into a rhythm, passing and probing and looking to cause problems, the volume was almost turned to mute as the home fans became increasingly anxious; only Klopp’s shrill, piercing whistles to impart orders broke the eerie silence.

If the atmosphere was uncomfortable, it reflected Liverpool’s performance. Yes, they were organised but as an attacking force they kept running down a series of dead ends and the biggest problem with which Maarten Stekelenberg had to deal was the dropping temperatures. Southampton, by contrast, looked ominous every time they sped forward. Klopp had made a point of talking about the three pronged menace of Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane in his press conference and they showed why he was right to highlight them. The one thing Southampton could not do, however, before the interval was fashion a chance to make Liverpool suffer. They had openings, notably when Virgil van Dijk saw a header saved by Simon Mignolet, but nothing that could be described as clear cut.

Mercifully, the tempo increased considerably after the break and it was Liverpool who began much the brighter, with Benteke’s introduction for the floundering Divock Origi giving them presence. They pushed forward, used the ball quicker and looked to stretch their visitors.

Alberto Moreno, the young Spanish left-back, was a particular eye-catcher wearing Red and on the hour, he produced a moment that changed the mood in the stadium, scampering back 30 yards to catch Mane and thundering into a challenge that won the ball cleanly.

It was a magnificent piece of defending, one that was met with almost universal approval. Suddenly Liverpool had more impetus and the feeling began to grow that the pressure would pay off. So it proved in the 77th minute. 

There seemed little apparent danger for Southampton when Nathaniel Clyne moved the ball back to James Milner but the visitors sat far too deep, allowed the England man to weigh up his options and he picked out Benteke, who thumped a header beyond Stekelenberg’s reach. As Benteke was engulfed by his team-mates, Klopp hurtled down the touchline, leaping in the air and roaring his delight. His assistant, Peter Kraweitz, was similarly ecstatic, hurtling on to the pitch as the tension started to lift.

This being Liverpool, though, nothing is ever straightforward. The closer they got to three points, the more nervous they became and in the 85th minute, James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick was headed on by the substitutes Juanmi and Gaston Ramirez to Mane, who bundled in from two yards.

Now it was the turn for Ronald Koeman and his entourage to celebrate and it was nothing more than they deserved, the only blip on their efforts was Mane being shown two yellow cards in injury time.