Southampton’s Jack Stephens praises Future Stars Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling and team fight to avoid relegation

The visitors had taken the lead when Dominik Szoboszlai latched onto mistakes in the Saints penalty box but Adam Armstrong levelled with a penalty rebound. Mateus Fernandes stunned the league leaders after the break but Mohamed Salah tapped the ball around Alex McCarthy before scoring a penalty in the 83rd minute. Despite walking away with no points when Saints were again leading, skipper Stephens said there would be “no issues” keeping confidence in the squad. READ MORE: Southampton come from behind to lead Liverpool but Salah strikes twice “I think that’s the easy bit because the group of lads that we’ve got here are amazing and work so hard and give absolutely everything every day," said Stephens. “There will be no issues picking lads up and getting going again because that’s what we do. We’re going to keep plugging away and we know we’ll turn things around. "We can’t dwell on it for too long, because we’ve got another game on Friday (at Brighton) and it’s going to be another tough one.” Fernandes scored his first Premier League goal with a drilled finish past Liverpool's Caoimhín Kelleher – cupping his ears to the fans chanting his name in the Northam. Stephens admitted he was “really happy” for the 2004-born midfielder, adding: “He works so hard, he does so much work for the team. He’s an amazing footballer. "That sometimes overshadows the work rate he puts in for the team. For someone of his age to come in and have the impact he’s had on us is brilliant. "I’m really pleased he’s got his first goal because he deserves that.” READ MORE: As it happened recap - Southampton vs Liverpool in Premier League Saints were without key defensive players Aaron Ramsdale and Jan Bednarek, who both suffered injuries during the international break. On missing two regular starters, Stephens said: "When anyone’s out injured it affects the group. What I will say is the lads that have come in are always ready. "That’s a credit to the lads and the group. It doesn’t actually look too different when players come out of the team and other lads come in. Defender Stephens also heaped praise on academy product Tyler Dibling, who set up Saints’ second goal with a cross-pitch ball. “He’s 18 years old and he plays like he’s playing in the park,” Stephens continued. "I’ve run out of words to describe him because he’s so, so good. “I really believe he can do whatever he wants in the game and I hope that’s with us for a long time. He’s got the ability to impact games against any team in the league.”