Southampton end Everton’s unbeaten run; Klopp hails Reds’ heart after win

Southampton beat Premier League leaders Everton 2-0 at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday as Carlo Ancelotti’s side became the final club to lose a game this season.

Southampton took the lead in the 27th minute when James Ward-Prowse played a neat one-two with Danny Ings, who provided the through ball for his fellow Englishman to fire a shot past Jordan Pickford.

Ings turned provider again eight minutes later when he crossed from the left flank to find Che Adams at the far post and the unmarked striker took his time to pick his spot to beat Pickford with a strike that deflected off Gylfi Sigurdsson. With about 20 minutes to go, Everton were reduced to 10 men when defender Lucas Digne was sent off for a straight red card after he fouled Kyle Walker-Peters and Ancelotti could not bring on another defender having already made three substitutions.

Everton remain top of the standings with 13 points and a healthier goal difference than city rivals Liverpool while Southampton moved up to fifth.

Liverpool pip Sheffield: Liverpool were far from their best as they laboured to a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday but Juergen Klopp praised his side’s resilience as they again showed a knack for overcoming adversity at Anfield.

Diogo Jota’s second-half header sealed the points after Roberto Firmino had cancelled out Sander Berge’s penalty as Liverpool extended their unbeaten league run at home to 62 matches.

Liverpool are undefeated in their last 13 home league games in which they have conceded the first goal, winning the last nine.

They had to do it this time without injured defensive talisman Virgil van Dijk and at the end of a demanding week in which they drew 2-2 at Everton and ground out a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League.

“A tough week obviously -- a lot of games, a lot of minutes, tough opponents, hard-fighting opponents,” Klopp said.

“(We) won the two matches after the Merseyside derby, so really pleased with that, obviously.

“We didn’t score (the third goal) so the game stayed open and they had their moments, but we defended well with a big heart. And so I liked it.”

Jota has now scored in his first two home league games since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Incredibly, since netting against Arsenal on Sept. 28, the Portuguese has played in eight games for club and country.

Klopp said there was more to come from the 23-year-old.

“He is still adapting. In the moment, a lot of things we do are not natural to him but that’s only because Wolves play different -- but a lot of things he did for Wolves are exactly what we want him to do,” Klopp said.

“That he is that close already is just a sign of how good a player he is. As I said, if he stays fit, he’s 23 and the future is bright. We will need his quality and I am really happy that he’s settled nicely so far.”

While Liverpool moved joint top with Everton, Sheffield United have managed only one point from six games.

Yet they pushed the champions all the way and manager Chris Wilder saw many positives.

Lampard annoyed: Chelsea boss Frank Lampard said he was frustrated and confused that his team were denied a penalty in 0-0 draw at Manchester United.

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta was grabbed by his United counterpart Harry Maguire when challenging for a header in the first half but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) dismissed the London club’s penalty claims after reviewing the incident.

“I thought it was a clear penalty. I couldn’t see it at the time from where I was standing and those ones are hard calls for the referee. It’s why we brought VAR into the game, but VAR was very quick to dismiss it,” Lampard told reporters.

Agencies