Liverpool cruise past Southampton into second place, while Everton claim 1-0 over West Ham

LIVERPOOL moved into second in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Southampton, while Everton beat West Ham 1-0.

LIVERPOOL moved into second place in the Premier League table as goals from Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard secured a 3-0 win at Southampton.

Suarez put Liverpool ahead after 16 minutes of his 100th Premier League appearance with his first goal since January 28.

Southampton missed chances to level before Sterling, a 57th-minute substitute, scored with his first touch of the game and Gerrard then netted a penalty in injury time.

Liverpool had already known that third place was theirs for the taking with League Cup finalists Manchester City not involved in Premier League action.

The bonus was Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Stoke City earlier in the day, which meant that second place was also up for grabs.

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Southampton brought Dejan Lovren back in place of Maya Yoshida for his first game since the Croatian centre-back damaged ankle ligaments in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland in mid-January.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, meanwhile, began the match with Sterling on the bench and Joe Allen in the starting line-up.

Allen’s inclusion appeared to be an attempt to help Liverpool keep the ball better than they had in last season’s 3-1 defeat in this fixture and it was his long pass down the right that created the game’s first chance.

The Welshman’s ball sent Daniel Sturridge clear of the hosts’ defenders and he needed only to find Suarez, unmarked to his left, for Liverpool to take the lead.

However, he under-hit his pass just enough to give Jose Fonte the chance to recover and slide the ball away for a corner.

The Saints claimed a penalty in vain when their captain Adam Lallana went down under a challenge from Jon Flanagan, the Liverpool right-back, and in the 16th minute they fell behind to Suarez’s opportunistic goal.

News_Image_File: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard caps off an important win for the Reds.

He began the move with a run infield from the left, but the chance seemed lost when Sturridge’s attempt at a return pass was intercepted.

Unfortunately for the home side, the ball rebounded back into the path of Suarez, who calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Southampton should have replied after 31 minutes with a slick move that would have impressed watching England manager Roy Hodgson.

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Rickie Lambert chested a cross from Jay Rodriguez down for Lallana, but although he sidestepped a defender to give himself only Simon Mignolet to beat, he could only roll the ball against the post.

Morgan Schneiderlin then volleyed over the bar and Mignolet had to reach out to his right to parry a first-time shot by Rodriguez after Lambert had cleverly dummied Lallana’s low cross from the left.

Southampton brought on crowd favourite Gaston Ramirez for Steven Davis at half-time to add an even greater element of unpredictability.

It was Ramirez’s pass that put Rodriguez in possession on the left side of the penalty area with a chance to escape Flanagan and shoot, but Martin Skrtel blocked his attempt to curl the ball around Mignolet.

Liverpool were not making much impression as an attacking force as Southampton monopolised possession.

Rodgers needed to do something to interrupt the home side’s flow and he decided to withdraw Philippe Coutinho in favour of Sterling, but even the Liverpool manager must have been amazed by the instant effect of his substitution.

Gerrard started the move, playing Suarez through a gap on the right flank, and when the Uruguayan crossed low, Sterling shot home first-time.

Gerrard coolly placed a penalty into the top-right corner in injury time to add further gloss to the scoreline after Fonte tripped Suarez.

News_Image_File: West Ham players can’t hide their disappointment after Romelu Lukaku’s goal.

Elsewhere, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku celebrated his return from injury by coming off the bench to hit the late goal that secured a 1-0 win over West Ham.

Lukaku had been sidelined for a month with an ankle problem and the on-loan Chelsea star was quick to make up for lost time at Goodison Park.

He came on midway through the second half and bagged his 10th club goal of the season nine minutes from time to seal Everton’s first win in three Premier League matches and end West Ham’s five-game unbeaten run.

Lukaku’s heroics provided a much-needed morale boost for Everton, whose hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish had suffered a major blow after successive defeats at Tottenham and Chelsea.

News_Rich_Media: Highlights of Everton's 1-0 victory over West Ham United at Goodison Park.

Roberto Martinez’s team made a vibrant start and Steven Naismith headed wide from Leon Osman’s flick in the opening minutes.

Gareth Barry and Steven Pienaar both tried their luck from long-range as Everton continued to dominate, but neither strike tested Hammers goalkeeper Adrian.

Naismith finally brought Adrian into action as he bent his run to beat the West Ham offside trap before firing in a left-footed effort which the Spaniard kept out at his near post.

West Ham’s lethargic display prompted an immediate response from boss Sam Allardyce, who replaced striker Carlton Cole with Andy Carroll after just 28 minutes.

Carroll was back from a three-match suspension for his controversial red card against Swansea and the burly England forward’s presence gave the visitors a more menacing look.

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard had to save bravely to deny Kevin Nolan when the Hammers captain tried to convert Matt Taylor’s long ball.

There was a moment of alarm for Everton when Carroll almost capitalised on a slip by young defender John Stones, but the striker’s shot was tipped over by Howard.

Martinez sent on Lukaku with half an hour to play and the change proved decisive.

The Belgian was immediately in the thick of it and helped set up Deulofeu for a shot that flashed narrowly wide.

And Sylvain Distin should have done better than stab wide from a Leighton Baines cross.

Everton’s pressure paid off in the 81st minute when Baines slipped a pass towards Lukaku, who found space to crash home from 10 yards.