Liverpool started 2021 with an inspid away defeat against Southampton.

A deft second-minute lob from ex-Reds striker Danny Ings consigned his old club to defeat, reducing their Premier League lead to goal difference alone.

The below-par display from Jurgen Klopp’s side could now see them lose top spot to Manchester United by the time the teams face off on January 17.

Here were the key talking points from St Mary’s:

Klopp’s defence needs continuity

 

Another game and yet another defensive pairing for Liverpool.

Jordan Henderson and Fabinho formed the tenth different centre-half combination Jurgen Klopp has used in just 17 league games this term.

Remarkably, the midfielders were the 41st in their manager’s five-year reign.

Klopp evidently hasn’t had it easy, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez likely out for the season and an injury-prone Joel Matip set to miss the next few weeks.

While Fabinho has settled into his new role encouragingly and Henderson did little wrong here, such constant chopping and changing still feels unwise.

Yes, Liverpool’s schedule has been packed since the start of the season, but Klopp clearly remains unsure of at least half his best available central pairing.

It was easy to feel for Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams, both unused substitutes, despite being naturally suited to the position and impressing in recent outings.

The sooner Klopp decides on a preferred partnership, Liverpool can start to recapture their consistency in an area which has plagued them so far all season.

Midfield again strikes wrong balance

 

If Fabinho and Henderson were relatively blameless, the revamped midfield which Klopp plumped for on the South Coast certainly did not pay dividends.

Thiago Alcantara was handed his first start since October 17 while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain earned his first start of the season at St Mary’s.

Putting two rarely-used players in the same midfield three appeared risky, and Liverpool looked a soft touch in the centre of the park as a result.

Thiago was quiet throughout and Oxlade-Chamberlain wasteful in possession, completing just eight of 18 passes before being hooked just before the hour.

His replacement, the lesser-spotted Xherdan Shaqiri, was similarly ineffective in establishing control of a game which gradually ebbed away from the champions.

Without the authority offered by Fabinho and Henderson in midfield, Liverpool looked one-dimensional and increasingly predictable in this department.

These players will surely improve the more they get back up to speed, but throwing them in together so soon after completing their recoveries backfired here.

Reds still toothless on their travels

 

Clearly Liverpool have regressed somewhat on last season’s dizzying heights as this defeat confirmed they can’t match their previous 99-point haul.

Much of that is down to a faltering away form of four league wins from 15 on their travels, stretching back to the end of their unbeaten run last February.

Worryingly, it’s now only one victory in their last eight away league games, with that 7-0 trouncing of Crystal Palace looking increasingly anomalous.

A deeper concern for Klopp may be how little they’re hitting the target: they had just one shot on target in the second half of each of their last two Premier League games.

It was the same again tonight, as Sadio Mane’s tame effort on 75 minutes turned out to be their only shot on target from 17 overall attempts.

For the Premier League as a whole, the early-season goal glut has dried up, with the rigours of a compressed schedule beginning to take its toll on teams.

Even so, the front three of Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah – anonymous here – should still be prolific enough for Liverpool to rely on.

What will concern Klopp more than the stuttering away form is just how sporadically his side are simply forcing opposition goalkeepers into action.

Time for a reinforcements rethink?

 

Venturing into the January transfer window is rare for Klopp but given how stretched his squad already is, he may be best served revisiting the idea.

Although a notoriously difficult market to shop in with little value, Liverpool are a far cry from the team that had the title all but sewn up by Christmas.

This is shaping up to be the most open Premier League season in years and, while they coped admirably without multiple stars, nothing can be left to chance.

Klopp has not been known to bolster his ranks mid-season at Anfield. Van Dijk’s signing three years ago is still very much an exception, not the rule.

But with their title defence on the line, it may be worth gambling on lightning striking twice – particularly at centre-half, where Liverpool are threadbare.