Five things to take from Southampton's 1-1 draw away at Liverpool

Ahead of tomorrow night's Capital One Cup clash against Premier League strugglers Aston Villa, we decided to run through five positive points for Southampton fans to take away from Sunday's 1-1 draw away against Liverpool.

Southampton are still unbeaten away in league

Maybe it's the green shirts, but Southampton have maintained the largely positive away showings from last year - exemplified by the 3-1 away win at Chelsea at the beginning of the month.

While Sunday didn't see Saints beat Liverpool Anfield, Ronald Koeman's men showed some much-needed grit to grab a late equaliser to ensure the team take a point back to St. Mary's.

We remain level in the league with Liverpool

One key factor of this game was the fact that Saints are above Liverpool on goal difference. It may only be ten games into the season, but it's key for us to retain parity with the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham, Everton, etc. to ensure we are within a shout of a good finish at the end of the season.

Last season, Morgan Schneiderlin was Simon Mignolet's fingertips away from netting a late equaliser to make it 2-2 away at Anfield. The margins in football are so fine that if that had gone in, Saints and Liverpool would have finished above the Reds in the league on goal difference and we would be in the Europa League group stages. An away point at Liverpool, in the grand scheme of things, is a good result.

Maarten Stekelenburg is back

I hate to go on about the shortfalls of Kelvin Davis. But, he is not a goalkeeper of Premier League standard. With Stekelenburg back in between the posts, our defence looks a lot more confident with Virgil van Dijk having a great game at the back in particular.

Gaston Ramirez actually looked half decent

While Ramirez only had a short cameo late on against Liverpool, he looked pretty handy! He was aggressive and wanted to have the ball - something he has lacked in his previous iterations in the Saints midfield.

The former Uruguayan prospect even set up Sadio Mane's late equaliser, having delicately lofted the ball across goal with his head for the Senegalese international to bundle home. More of the same, Gaston!

Sadio Mane's stupid red card won't impact on Sunday's South Coast showdown with Bournemouth

That's right. As it was only a red card picked up due to two bookings, Mane will only receive a one-game ban. That ban will be for tomorrow's Capital One Cup game against Aston Villa.

Mane was a little foolish to earn his red card. But, at least it means we can see what he can do against a frail Bournemouth backline come Sunday.