Slot’s decision to rest stars pays off as Liverpool beat Southampton to reach Carabao Cup semis | OneFootball

A weakened Liverpool side withstood a second-half fightback from Southampton to reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz were all left out of the squad to face Southampton, as goals from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott gave the Reds a 2-1 win over struggling Southampton.

The home side, playing their first game without former boss Russell Martin who was sacked following a 5-0 thrashing by Tottenham on Sunday, looked visibly different from their usual style of play, sitting back behind the ball and kicking it long much to the jubilation of the home supporters who cheered when the direct ball was played, having seen their side make several costly errors while trying to play out from the back this season.

But their plan to frustrate the Premier League leaders did not last long as Southampton’s woeful record of defensive errors continues, with Jan Bednarek slicing an attempted clearance to send Nunez through on goal to finish beyond Alex McCarthy on 24 minutes.

Liverpool were allowed to keep the ball with ease, Southampton sitting off them and playing with a lack of intensity which allowed the away side to grab a second when Cody Gakpo fed Elliott to finish past McCarthy with the help of a deflection after some lovely build-up play.

Slot, sitting in the stands due to being handed a touchline ban for picking up a third yellow card of the season in the draw with Fulham on Saturday, would barely have had to rise up out of his seat during a comfortable first half in which his young side were rarely threatened.

Southampton understandably looked flat and low on confidence given their dreadful campaign so far and the departure of manager Martin on Sunday but their lack of intensity and ambition was a surprise given the makeshift nature of this Liverpool side. Midfielder Wataru Endo started in central defence, drifting into midfield when his side had the ball, while 17-year-old Trey Nyoni started in the middle of the park with another youngster in 22-year-old Tyler Morton alongside him.

There was a change in approach at half-time, however, with the Saints making life much more difficult for Liverpool by hounding them more often when they had possession and showing more of an intent to attack. They were rewarded on 59 minutes when their most dangerous player, Cameron Archer, cut in from the left-hand side and unleashed a brilliant strike into the top-right corner.

And he went close to adding a second shortly after, turning Yukinari Sugawara’s cross towards goal to force a brilliant save from Caoimhin Kelleher.

But Slot will no doubt have been proud of the effort from his side missing some of its usual star names. And with a big game away at Spurs to come on Sunday, his decision to give those players a rest ultimately paid off despite a nervy second half.