Holders Liverpool booked their spot in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup after edging out a spirited Southampton side 2-1 in blustery conditions at St Mary’s Stadium. The Reds had to navigate the tricky tie without their manager Arne Slot in the dugout, as the Dutchman was serving a touchline ban for card accumulation picked up earlier in the season.
Nunez Silences Saints Fans
Liverpool took the lead midway through the first half thanks to a moment Southampton will want to quickly forget. Centre-back Jan Bednarek’s miskick was compounded by goalkeeper Alex McCarthy losing his footing, gifting Darwin Núñez the simplest of finishes from close range. The Uruguayan, who had been the target of taunts from the home support after missing a earlier chance, put his finger to his lips to shush the crowd in celebration.
Elliott Extends Advantage
The Premier League leaders doubled their advantage eight minutes later. Cody Gakpo slipped a pass through for Harvey Elliott to latch onto, and the 19-year-old midfielder made no mistake, rifling a low drive beyond McCarthy from just inside the area to make it 2-0 to the visitors.
“We came into this game knowing the circumstances that Southampton were going through and knew they were going to come out fighting and we were ready for it.”
Harvey Elliott
Archer Pulls One Back
To their credit, relegation-threatened Saints refused to lie down. They halved the deficit just before the hour mark, Cameron Archer curling home a fine effort from the edge of the box to set up a tense final half hour under the lights on the south coast.
But ultimately Liverpool’s class and experience saw them through to the final four. Assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders took charge of the team from the technical area in Slot’s absence.
Title Defense On Track
“We have to defend the trophy because the club won it last season, so we want to compete in every league and this is one of them, so we’re happy that we reached the semifinal,” Slot said afterwards, having watched on from the stands.
Liverpool will now await the outcome of Thursday’s clash between Tottenham and Manchester United to discover their opponents in the last four, with Arsenal and Newcastle having already progressed on Tuesday. The Reds remain on course for a second straight League Cup crown, a feat they last achieved in the early 1980s.
As for Southampton, this brave performance in defeat provided some much-needed respite amid a dismal campaign that sees them anchored to the foot of the Premier League table. The Saints sacked manager Russell Martin in the wake of Sunday’s humiliating 5-0 home reverse to Spurs and are still searching for just their second league win of the season as the halfway point approaches.
