Southampton v Liverpool ratings: Sulemana 9, Lyanco 3; Jota 8, Salah 7

After 4-4 draw at St Mary's, Jurgen Klopp's team ready for title tilt next season while relegated Saints look to bounce straight back

SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Alex McCarthy – 5. Picked the four first efforts on target out of the back of his net, but wasn’t helped as a catalogue of errors unfolded in front of him. Made two important stops from Henderson and Salah late-on. Reuters

Kyle Walker-Peters – 6. A solid game for Walker-Peters who managed to keep Mohamed Salah quiet throughout the match, making it difficult for Liverpool’s dangerman to create anything meaningful from his side. Quick to read play and track runs in behind. AFP

Lyanco Vojnovic – 3. Lost concentration for Roberto Firmino’s goal, reckless with his tackling at times, and then lost Diogo Jota for Liverpool’s equaliser at 4-4. Gave too much space to Salah. Getty

Jan Bednarek – 4. Has to show more composure against Roberto Firmino, and didn’t seem to enjoy the best partnership with Lyanco, with the centre-back pairing in the wrong positions too often. EPA

James Bree – 5. Tested Kelleher with an effort from range. Was quick to challenge Diogo Jota in the second half in what looked to be a big chance for the Portugal international. Getty

Romeo Lavia – 5. A moment to forget for Lavia as he carelessly gave away possession in his own box before the opening goal, passing the ball straight to Diogo Jota who punished him with a first-time finish. Sometimes sloppy with his other passing decisions, making it more difficult for his teammates to receive them. PA

James Ward-Prowse – 7. A precise finish from Ward-Prowse saw him get Southampton back into the game in the 19th minute. Worked hard to block central areas and helped begin counter-attacks. AFP

Mohamed Elyounoussi – 5. A quiet game for Elyounoussi who linked play well at times, but drifted out of the game without many opportunities to run at the opposition directly. EPA

Carlos Alcaraz – 6. Impressive link-up play in the build up to Southampton’s first goal, taking it past the Liverpool defence and playing a one-two before setting up Ward-Prowse. Isolated in the second half despite looking promising in possession. EPA

Theo Walcott – 6. Kept things simple and used his experience at times to win fouls for his side in advanced areas. Positioned astutely to create an option for his teammates on the right flank, but could have done better with his final cross when finding space in the 55th minute. Replaced in the 76th minute by Livramento. Getty

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MAY 28: Kamaldeen Sulemana of Southampton celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Liverpool FC at Friends Provident St. Mary's Stadium on May 28, 2023 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Michael Steele / Getty Images)

SUBS: Adam Armstrong (Lavia, 63’) – 7. An instant impact by the substitute as he intercepted Jordan Henderson’s pass before blitzing towards the Liverpool goal, finishing the move with a precise effort into the far corner. Getty

Stuart Armstrong (Elyounoussi, 64’) – 6. An effort over the bar late on was audacious and not close to threatening. Getty

Tino Livramento (Walcott 76’) – N/R. Worked hard and was committed in his duels, tried to get forward but struggled with Liverpool pinning Southampton in late. Getty

Dom Ballard (Sulemana, 86’) – N/R. On for Sulemana in the final four minutes. Getty

Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (Ward-Prowse, 86’) – N/R. Introduced late in the game. Getty

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Caoimhin Kelleher – 4. Made some reasonable stops but overall could have done better with some of the ones he let in. Also not helped by his defence at times. Reuters

Kostas Tsimikas – 5. Didn’t allow too much to develop down his side and forced Theo Walcott into the centre of the pitch. Replaced in the second half as Liverpool looked to become more attacking. PA

Joel Matip – 4. Allowed Kamaldeen Sulemana to find space and couldn’t keep up with the striker, who finished past Kelleher. Could have organised his side more as the most experienced defender on the pitch. Getty

Joe Gomez – 5. Handled isolated situations well during counter-attacks, but could have been more aggressive in his challenges in other moments. Getty

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. Frustrated at times in the first half with some of the movement from his teammates and potentially could have been closer to contest James Ward-Prowse’s effort. Impressed in attacking areas when dictating the play. Picked up yet another assist with his back-post cross for Cody Gakpo. EPA

Fabinho – 6. Helped control the tempo with Alexander-Arnold and assisted Roberto Firmino’s goal before Liverpool went into cruise control. Replaced in 57th minute by Jordan Henderson. AFP

Curtis Jones – 6. Kept things simple and didn’t put a pass wrong across the 90 minutes. Chose his moments to go forward, helping to maintain possession where Southampton were gaining momentum. Reuters

James Milner – 6. A strike from range almost saw him sign off his Liverpool career with a goal, though his left-footed effort was dragged just wide. Worked hard despite it being the last game of the season – standards he has set throughout his time playing for the Reds. AFP

Diogo Jota – 8. Quietened down in the second half after an excellent start. Jota showed great awareness to intercept Lavia’s pass for his opener, while his second goal of the day was emphatically struck past Alex McCarthy. AFP

Roberto Firmino – 7. Capping off his Liverpool career with a goal in true Firmino fashion. The Brazil international showed excellent composure in the box by producing a dummy that wrong-footed both Southampton centre-backs, and he then finished strongly past the goalkeeper. There were good elements of link-up play too when he dropped into deeper areas. AFP

Mohamed Salah – 7. Keen to score and had a number of efforts that just couldn’t achieve that target. That saw him also miss a couple of opportunities to find his teammates in space, and could have had more than the one assist he got for Jota’s equaliser. AFP

SUBS: Jordan Henderson (Fabinho, 57’) – 6. The Liverpool skipper continually played direct accurate balls that put Mohamed Salah into promising areas, but his overall grade was let down by an misplaced pass that allowed Adam Armstrong to score. PA

Harvey Elliott (Tsimikas, 57’) – 6. Unable to trouble the goalkeeper with four efforts at goal. Added value when starting counter-attacks for Liverpool, often making the right decision with his pass to transition the play quickly. Bright on the ball and helped overload areas to create more opportunities for Mohamed Salah. PA

Cody Gakpo (Jones, 57’) – 7. Found space at the back post and tapped home Liverpool’s third in a bright game in which he displayed his ability to link play as well as threaten opponents inside the box. Always looked to play progressively when picking up the ball near the area. PA

Luis Diaz (Firmino, 57’) – 7. Caused trouble for the opposition when cutting inside and it always looked like something could happen when he was on the ball. Getty

There was little riding on Liverpool's visit to St Mary's to face Premier League bottom club Southampton on Sunday but the two sides still served up a 4-4 thriller.

Jurgen Klopp's team had already secured fifth place and Europa League football next season and Ruben Selles's Saints were already down.

But the match proved to be a goal-fest, with Liverpool opening the scoring after 10 minutes through Diogo Jota, when he pounced on Romeo Lavia's loose pass, before Roberto Firmino, in his final match for the Reds, made it 2-0.

The Saints showed they have the spirit to fight for promotion next season and pulled a goal back through James Ward-Prowse, then levelled the scores in the 28th minute when Kamaldeen Sulemana claimed his first goal for the club.

He grabbed his second to put the home side in front just after the break before Adam Armstrong made it 4-2 in the 64th minute.

Liverpool hit back through Cody Gakpo in the 72nd minute before Jota claimed his second to make it honours even at the final whistle.

After the match Liverpool boss Klopp, whose side finished the season on an 11-game unbeaten run, said: "There were moments in the season where you thought it would be four years long.

"The last 11 games made us realise that next year we will be a contender again."

Saints boss Selles said the result also gave his side hope for next term in the Championship, fuelling belief that they can "bounce back" with an immediate return to the top flight.

"We just want to make sure we can show once again that we are ready to compete at this level," he said.

"Events will take us away from the Premier League but this team is ready to bounce back quick."

Player ratings from the game can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.