Liverpool survived a late push from Southampton during a 2-1 win at St Mary's Stadium as they booked their place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Southampton had found themselves five goals behind at half-time during the weekend's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and Saints could only limit Liverpool in two at the same time.
Darwin Nunez took advantage of uncertainty in Southampton's backline to put Liverpool ahead after 24 minutes, with Harvey Elliott's effort doubling their lead eight minutes later after a brilliant move.
Liverpool looked to be heading for the final four of the competition, but Cameron Archer's superb effort gave them food for thought. The Saints forward fired powerfully past Caoimhin Kelleher to offer his side a lifeline.
Southampton pushed furiously for an equalizer and had some promising moments in the closing stages, with Jarell Quansah lucky not to be sent off in second-half stoppage time as Liverpool narrowly held on to the lead.
|
The players |
evaluations |
|---|---|
|
GC: Alex McCarthy |
5.8/10 |
|
RB: James Bree |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Taylor Harwood-Bellis |
7.4/10 |
|
CB: Jan Bednarek |
5.3/10 |
|
CB: Nathan Wood |
6.6/10 |
|
LB: Ryan Manning |
6.8/10 |
|
RM: Tyler Dibling |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Joe Wednesday |
6.1/10 |
|
CM: Flynn Downes |
7.0/10 |
|
LM: Matthew Fernandes |
7.6/10 |
|
ST: Cameron Archer |
7.1/10 |
|
UNDER: Yukinari Sugawara (61' for Bree) |
7.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Paul Onuachu (73' for Archer) |
6.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Kamaldeen Sulemana (73' for Downes) |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Adam Lallana (84' for Aribo) |
6.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Ben Brereton Diaz (84' for Bednarek) |
5.9/10 |
Subs not used: Joe Lumley (GK), Ronnie Edwards, Ryan Fraser, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw.
|
The players |
evaluations |
|---|---|
|
GC: Kevin Kelleher |
6.3/10 |
|
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold |
7.4/10 |
|
CB: Jarell Quansah |
7.1/10 |
|
CB: Wataru Endo |
7.9/10 |
|
LB: Joe Gomez |
6.4/10 |
|
CM: Tyler Morton |
6.5/10 |
|
CM: Trey Nyoni |
6.6/10 |
|
RM: Harvey Elliott |
7.6/10 |
|
AM: Alexis McAllister |
6.3/10 |
|
LM: Cody Steele |
7.5/10 |
|
ST: Darwin Nunez |
7.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Kostas Tsimikas (46' for Gomez) |
6.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Federico Chiesa (46' for Alexander-Arnold) |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Diogo Jota (63' for Gakpo) |
6.6/10 |
|
UNDER: James McConnell (63' for Mac Allister) |
6.6/10 |
|
UNDER: Jayden Danns (86' for Nyoni) |
6.3/10 |
Subs not used: Vitezslav Jaros (GK), James Norris, Amara Nallo.