The Saints had one Premier League fixture on the road in March, with few giving Ivan Jurić’s side much hope as they headed to Anfield. So how did they find themselves 1-0 up at half-time?

Surprisingly, Jurić made six personnel changes having spoken about the need to adapt, switching to a 4-4-2 formation from his usual five-at-the-back.

Sitting in a mid-block, Southampton settled defensively in front of a sluggish Liverpool, as full-backs Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Manning stood up to Luis Diaz and Mo Salah respectively.

Mateus Fernandes’ technical quality gave them composure to keep the ball when they got it - while Will Smallbone’s well-timed runs from midfield, when they did break, were shrewd and led to his first-half goal.

Southampton exploited right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold venturing into midfield too, by hitting the ball into the left-hand channel for Kamaldeen Sulemana to chase.

Galloping down the line, the Ghanian international was a perpetual threat in the first half and helped his team gain yards and win corners.

On the right, Tyler Dibling came into the side too - one of the most talked about young English players around. His low centre of gravity, superb dribbling skills and drive to get in the box have caught the eye - and the 19-year-old looked their most threatening player recently against Wolves.

He hasn’t been a nailed-on starter for Jurić - but perhaps his work in that game and at Anfield, along with Sulemana’s, will claim them places in the XI today.

Arne Slot made half-time subs in midfield and, with more zip about their passing and purpose about their work, the Reds levelled from a cut-back, scored by Darwin Nuñez, before Mo Salah struck a couple of penalties.

A valiant effort from the Saints but that result, coupled with a subsequent home loss to Wolves, made it 11 defeats from 12 league games in charge for Jurić prior to the midweek outing against Crystal Palace, where they picked up a 1-1 draw.

They could end up with the most losses suffered in a single Premier League season, not far behind the unwanted 29-game record. Southampton have also conceded the most goals - and scored the fewest.

Jurić has tried to bring a defensive solidity to the team and fewer errors are being made playing out from the back, with Russell Martin criticised for sticking to his philosophy following promotion.

But, despite all this, results haven’t improved.

Jurić’s desired intensity, something he is famed for demanding of his players, was lacking in the Wolves game as Jorgan Strand Larsen punished passive defending to score twice in a 2-1 victory on 15 March.

The Southampton hierarchy made a change in the dugout after a 5-0 home defeat to Spurs back in December.

With Ange Postecoglou’s side in a difficult run of form, Russell Martin went for it with a more attacking minded formation - playing Dibling behind a front two of Sulemana and Adam Armstong.

The move spectacularly back-fired, however, as Spurs sliced through Southampton with ease, racing into a 3-0 lead inside 14 minutes thanks to James Maddison, Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski goals.

Martin couldn’t let it go on - and brought off Sulemana for centre-back Nathan Wood on the quarter-hour mark to revert back to the five-man defence he’d been deploying in prior games.

Pape Matar Sarr and Maddison, for his second, struck to make it 5-0 before half-time and you felt Martin’s time as boss had come to an end.