'Amount of balls he won': Slot says there was a Liverpool player other than Salah who was so 'important' today
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Liverpool beat Southampton 3-2 in what was a thrilling Premier League encounter on Sunday.
The Reds knew they would have a big chance to make a real statement in the title race after seeing Man City thrashed by Tottenham on Saturday.
With opponents Southampton propping up the Premier League table in last place heading into the weekend, Liverpool were rightly heavy favourites.
However, the Saints made sure they were going to make the Reds work for it right from the off.
Ultimately, Liverpool had Mohamed Salah to thank after the Egyptian bagged two goals inside the final 25 minutes. With the second coming with seven minutes to go, the Reds simply needed to hold on.
Arne Slot has made a habit turning to Wataru Endo in such times this season, and with 90 minutes on the clock, he did the same at St Mary’s.
Arne Slot hails Wataru Endo importance
Endo has not had as big a role in the Liverpool squad as he did under Jurgen Klopp last season.
Nevertheless, the 31-year-old has still marked himself out as a reliable option for Slot when needing to see out games.
That was Endo’s role when coming on for the eight minutes of injury time allotted on Sunday.
And with Liverpool managing to see the match out without too much trouble, Slot praised Endo’s cameo while speaking to LFCTV after the final whistle.
READ MORE: Arne Slot raves about what Ryan Gravenberch did just before Mohamed Salah scored against Southampton
“I just mentioned Macca and Lucho, but also Wata Endo who came in, maybe only for 10 minutes.
“But he was important in that ten minutes with the amount of balls he won and the effort he put in,” raved the Dutch coach.
“So, that’s what in the end makes the team strong and that’s what we need.”
Wataru Endo shows his value
Endo will likely have wanted a bigger role than he has been given during his second season at Anfield.
Despite that, the Japan captain has still given it his all whenever he’s been called upon by Slot.
On Sunday, the first thing Endo did was intercept a forward pass from Southampton and he went on to make a further recovery, win a duel and also give away a foul.
In terms of what Liverpool needed exactly at that point of the game, Endo gave it to them.
There have been suggestions that Endo could look to leave Liverpool in the January transfer window. But his late showing at Southampton was yet more evidence that he has a valued part to play here.
