Liverpool was not at her best against Southampton. With less fortune, they may well have ended the afternoon without a point but, showing resilience and character, Rodgers’ side found a way to win and his reaction to the victory, secured by goals from Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge, spoke volumes.
There will be questions for Liverpool to answer this season, from whether it was a flash in the pan that could go so close in the title race, to can they cope without Luis Suarez, but this was in a way a telling riposte. In the past, Liverpool had folded in such fraught scenarios.
At 1-1, when Southampton had moved impressively back into the game, thanks to a fabulous 56th minute strike from Nathaniel Clyne, the potential for them to caved in was there, particularly when Steven Davis had a glorious chance to take the lead and the home crowd became fractious and irritable.
So, when Sterling rose in the 79th minute and helped on Jordan Henderson’s cross to Sturridge, who in turn poked the ball past Fraser Forster, Rodgers sped from his technical area and punched the air before looking up to the Directors Box, his fists clenched and a beaming smile on his face.
It is crucial for Liverpool to build up momentum this year and, in some ways, this was a mirror image of the opening game against Stoke 12 months ago. They were far from fluent that afternoon but clung on when Simon Mignolet saved an injury time penalty from Jonathan Walters.
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