Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (second right) celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the game with team-mates during the Premier League match at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton. ( Adam Davy/PA Wire/PA Images)

Southampton 1-3 Liverpool – Player Ratings: What the media and statistics say

Liverpool picked up a priceless 3-1 win at Southampton on Friday night, with the watching media dissecting the performances of the Reds’ players.

Jurgen Klopp‘s side knew that victory at St Mary’s would take them two points clear of Man City, having played one game more.

Shane Long’s early opener was disastrous, however, and for a while it looked as if Liverpool’s title hopes were fading fast.

Naby Keita equalised with his first-ever Reds goal, though, before Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson struck late on to secure all three points.

It was another emphatic comeback win for Klopp’s men, with City about to embark upon a testing span of fixtures in the title run-in.

Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, the Mirror, the Independent, Sky Sports, Anfield Index, FotMob and the This Is Anfield readers.

Salah (7.4) earned the highest average rating on the night, following his all-important strike with 10 minutes remaining.

In truth, the Egyptian had struggled until that point, but he came up trumps when his side most needed him, netting for the first time in nine matches.

The Echo‘s Ian Doyle described Salah’s solo effort as “remarkable”, while This is Anfield’s Joel Rabinowitz felt it “could well prove season-defining.”

There was also praise for Keita (6.9), after he finally ended his long wait for a first Liverpool goal.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - Friday, April 5, 2019: Liverpool's Naby Keita celebrates scoring the first equalising goal with team-mate Sadio Mane during the FA Premier League match between Southampton FC and Liverpool FC at the St. Mary's Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Alex Smith of the Mirror thought the midfielder “grew into the game” as the minutes ticked by and Anfield Index felt the goal will be a “massive fillip to his confidence.”

It was Henderson who turned the game in the second-half, however, and This is Anfield’s readers appreciated the skipper’s contribution.

He averaged 7.9 after playing a key role in two of the goals and bringing passion to the performance, showing how important he remains to the cause.

Rabinowitz went as far as to say it was “near enough the perfect cameo performance” from the 28-year-old.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 3, 2019: Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum during the FA Premier League match between Everton FC and Liverpool FC, the 233rd Merseyside Derby, at Goodison Park. (Pic by Laura Malkin/Propaganda)

In terms of poor performers on the night, Gini Wijnaldum (5.0) stood out after a ghost-like showing.

FotMob highlighted that the Dutchman lost three out of four duels, completed just 28 passes and attempted one tackle, which he won.

The mix in midfield ratings highlights the lack of control the Reds had in the match for spells, but the end result shows that the team still finds a way to break opponents down in many different ways.

Next up for Liverpool is a return to Champions League action, as the Reds entertain Porto in the quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night.

The Reds are favourites to make it into the semi-finals, but the Portuguese giants are likely to be a different proposition compared to last season.