A much-changed Liverpool obviously lacked cohesion and ultimately experience in the Carabao Cup in Southampton, but they prevailed and secured a place in the semi-finals.

Southampton 1-2 Liverpool

Carabao Cup Quarterfinals | St Mary’s
December 18, 2024

Goals: Archer 59′; Nunez 24′, Elliott 32′

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Caoimhin Kelleher – 7 (out of 10)

Returned to the lineup after a two-game absence and made a heroic save midway through the first half. Or a daisy cutter rolling into him, whatever.

No chance with the Saints’ second shot, a fierce curling shot into the top corner, but a few minutes later they pulled off a brilliant reflex stop. A late save from Ben Brereton Diaz was more routine.

Trent Alexander Arnold – 7

He was captain despite a shocking display at the weekend that raised some eyebrows, but when Virgil doesn’t play, Trent has the armband.

Played the through ball to open the scoring for Nunez – supported by a surprising clearance attempt – and later set up Mac Allister’s shot.

Jarell Quansah – 7

A big role for Quansah, who wasn’t particularly good in fleeting minutes – but he was essentially the only centre-back in a fluid defensive formation.

Wasn’t tested at all and cleared loose balls well, but in the first moment when he needed to show courage he didn’t as he was positionally responsible for Archer’s goal.

Shortly afterwards, however, he managed a huge flying block that could otherwise have made it 2-2.

Did he get away with being late? Other referees might have admitted it, but it didn’t look like much as Fernandes fell rather than Quansah fouling him or pulling him to the ground.

Wataru Endo – 7

Mouth guard inserted, Libero mode activated. Actually used as a second central defender, but with a clear mandate to get into midfield when we had the ball… which was basically always the case.

Quansah was the only player with more ball contacts than Endo (100), who also won by far more duels than any other player (11).

Won a few tough tackles, threw the ball around and sprinted back when called upon. Wore the armband in the second half but set up Saints’ goal when the ball hit him in the face and bounced back to Cameron Archer.

Joe Gomez – 8

Left-back? Left of a three? Left full-back? Ticked all the boxes, scoring overlaps and underlaps, chasing back to keep Dibling out of the way, playing clean defense and supporting the attack at every opportunity.

Blocking or not, we’re probably going to be our starter on that side of the defense at the moment.

Tyler Morton – 6

I feel a bit sorry for Morton – he’s clearly good enough to do a little job every now and then, but he can’t show anything in a game like this, with teammates who haven’t played together and a terribly wet pitch and a Opponents with 300 players behind the ball.

Retained the ball well, won a few duels, but really lacked space or capacity Effects in a meaningful way.

Was the right back in the second half and should have pointed Archer across the channel but didn’t and they scored.

Alexis Mac Allister – 6

It didn’t look like he was enjoying the monsoon conditions but it was nice to have him back after successive lockdowns.

He almost scored a goal with a nice finish from the edge of the penalty area. Played in 6th place after the break. Hopefully the runout will put him in good shape for the weekend.

Trey Nyoni – 6

It was the talented teenager’s first ever senior start, although not a game where we saw too much of his talent.

Caught the ball a few times or attempted passes that didn’t work, but continued to work, move and make himself available for possession.

There is undoubtedly more to come, but the truth is that he was overwhelmed and a little lost as the game approached in the second half. Still a big step in his career.

Harvey Elliott – 7

A first start since May 19th, the last matchday of last season – he hopes for much more in the second half of the season.

This lack of playing time was noticeable in the first 30 minutes in which he had little influence: loose touches on the ball, exclusion in the build-up and a foul committed when he tried to win the ball back after a wrong ball attempt on the line had suffered.

But then his moment came: a dart infield, a good position just outside the penalty area, a really good first touch and then luck that his right-footed shot deflected past the goalkeeper, giving him his first goal of the season bestowed.

He ran a lot and got to some good spots in the midfield.

Darwin Nunez – 7

His first curl attempt went about 40 yards over the crossbar. There was no such mistake the next time as he ran at a through ball from deep, touched it and fired his finish past the goalkeeper to open the scoring.

In reality we needed more recovery play from him in the second half.

A “shitty Andy Carroll” as Saints fans might think of him; We think you’re just a shitty team overall. And you’re out of the cup.

Cody Gakpo – 8 – Man of the Match

It’s perhaps a bit of an exaggeration to say he was one of the few who actually showed quality on the ball, but he was also one of the few who had real rhythm and form and it showed.

Good movement, always ready to take on his man and get some nice balls into the box – that’s exactly what he did to support Elliott.

Substitute

Kostas Tsimikas (for Gomez, 46′) – 7 – A timely return from injury. He played some crosses and corners, but was also beaten by Sugawara.

Federico Chiesa (for Alexander-Arnold, 46′) – 7 – Let’s hope this is the right start to his Reds career.

Had a great chance but missed his shot. The best moment was the elite’s first touch of the sky and the subsequent nutmeg. He almost scored twice late in the final period, a bending attempt was saved near the line and the rebound deflected over the goal.

Diogo Jota (for Gakpo, 62′) – 7 – The last half hour in front, Chiesa opened.

James McConnell (for Mac Allister, 62′) – 6 – He hopes this is a boost after injuries this season. A few nice details. Booked.

Jayden Danns (for Nyoni, 85′) – N/A – Back after an injury and a first exit under slot for the final phase.

Substitutes not used: Jaros, Nallo, Norris, Ngumoha

Arne Slot – 8

We could be two rounds away from a potential final, but this line-up left no doubt as to where the priorities lie – not even Salah, Van Dijk, Alisson, Diaz, Jones or Szoboszlai in the squad.

And if you ignore the eventual result, not too many fans will have been upset about this decision before kick-off.

Of course, an added factor to the evening was that Slot himself wasn’t even on the sidelines – his one-game suspension meant he was sitting high up in the stands… somewhat sheltered from the shocking conditions, unlike his co-workers in the dugout!

We can reasonably assume that the half-time substitutes were planned in advance (assuming there is no bad result), so getting the seniors back in is a positive, and of course the downside of the rest for other first team players, that options were limited later in the game.

Still, a midfield of McConnell, Elliott (first-ever starter) and Nyoni (first-ever starter) was clearly one that cost the Reds control in the second half, as the game was tighter than it should have been at that point.

That being said, it was nice to see some young players get involved on the night, including some who were struggling last year but got injured this year, and ultimately the result kept us going.

That means two more games and a semi-final as we continue the defense of our trophy from last year.