A superb second-minute lob by Danny Ings gave Southampton a surprise 1-0 home win over Premier League leaders Liverpool, with the Reds’ attack looking rudderless as they were held scoreless for the second game in a row.

With the injury-hit champions fielding a makeshift centre-back pairing of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, striker Ings, who joined Southampton on loan from Liverpool in 2018 before making the transfer permanent a year later, was able to exploit some confusion at a set piece to secure the win.

The victory lifted Southampton to sixth in the table on 29 points, behind Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City on goal difference. Liverpool stay top on 33 points ahead of Manchester United, who have a game in hand, on goal difference.

Southampton have become the first team in the Premier League to beat all seven champions in the season after their respective title wins. As Henderson called his players to shore up the middle, James Ward-Prowse floated a free-kick down the left that Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to deal with, and Ings pounced to send a deft left-footed lob over Alisson into the net.

Liverpool did not manage a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, with their best chance headed just over the bar by Mohamed Salah during the first-half stoppage time. They dominated the second half, but once again a concerted effort by the massed ranks of Southampton’s defence kept them out, and coach Ralph Hasenhuettl fell to his knees at the final whistle as his players celebrated.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said it was baffling that the Premier League champions were not awarded a penalty and claimed other teams would not have been denied by the officials.

Liverpool had a penalty claim dismissed when Georginio Wijnaldum’s shot from inside the box was blocked by the hand of Jack Stephens. The league leaders were left frustrated again when Kyle Walker-Peters went unpunished after bringing down Sadio Mane in the penalty area.

“The best situations we had were with Sadio having the ball at his feet,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “For anyone to say he’s a diver is the biggest joke...He had two situations where other teams would get a penalty.

“The handball, I don’t know who will explain that to me. In these situations we were unfortunate...I hear Manchester United had more penalties in two years than I had in 5-1/2 years. I have no idea if that’s my fault, or how that can happen.

“But it’s no excuse for the performance. We cannot change it, we have to respect the decisions. We can change our performance. That’s our focus now.”

“They (Southampton) put a lot of work in. Our decision-making was just not good, that is how it is when you don't have momentum. We should have had much more chances,” Klopp added.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said the club had forgotten how to play in the final minutes of games after going three league matches without a win.
“I didn’t see that coming, I expected a reaction on the back of two poor performances. We’ve just seen another one,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “Liverpool’s away form this season is so poor...That’s a big worry, in terms of what they’re creating away from home. It’s nowhere near enough.”