Saints Outplay Liverpool In Semi First Leg

Sports - Football - EFL Cup - SFC 1:0 LFC

Southampton outshone and -played record winners Liverpool in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final, beating the Reds 1-0 at St Mary's.

It could and should have been a much worse score for the Reds, under-fire and second-choice keeper Loris Karius making some crucial saves, especially in the first half.

The Saints had taken the lead thanks to Nathan Redmond's fine finish off Jay Rodriguez just 20 minutes into the clash.

The English midfielder could have had a hat-trick if it weren't for the 23-year-old German stopper denying him again and again, keeping the visitors in the tie.

Jürgen Klopp conceded defeat after the match and that it should have been 3-0, leaving Saints boss Claude Puel happy with the display but a bit disappointed with the result.

It was by far the worst performance under the German boss, the Reds dominating possession but recording less shots and only two on target, leaving Fraser Forster with not much to do.

Man of the match  Virgil van Dijk bossed the show from the back, frustrating the visitors, Roberto Firmino the only Red to get an attempt on target.

Southampton will be desperate to keep hold of the popular centre-half throughout and beyond the January transfer window.

Liverpool will be desperate to come back from this dire defeat, lucky to have just one goal between the two when they meet again at Anfield in just over two weeks.

(The game was so bad, there is not more to write about. No discrediting Southampton, it was a great win for them!)

Southampton Goal: Redmond (20').

Southampton Team: 1 Forster; 2 Soares, 3 Yoshida, 17 van Dijk (c), 21 Bertrand; 14 Romeu, 4 Clasie (23 Hojbjerg 73'), 8 Davis (16 Ward-Prowse 82'); 9 Rodriguez (booked 81') (7 Long 82'), 22 Redmond, 11 Tadic (booked 65'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 24 Stephens, 38 McQueen, 39 Sims, 41 Lewis.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 2 Clyne, 6 Lovren, 17 Klavan, 7 Milner (c); 21 Lucas, 5 Wijnaldum (10 Coutinho 61'), 23 Can; 15 Sturridge, 20 Lallana, 11 Firmino (27 Origi 83'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 12 Gomez, 18 Moreno, 22 Mignolet, 35 Stewart, 58 Woodburn.

Match Stats: SFC-LFC
Attempts: 11-9
On target: 5-2
Corners: 2-5
Fouls: 11-5
Bookings: 2-0

Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Ground: St Mary's Stadium
Attendance: 31,480

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match report.

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

Week 32: Premier League Tops & Flops

Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend

WOW!

Aston Villa's performance and Matthew Lowton's stunning winner against Stoke earned them their third win in four games, lifting them two points clear of the relegation zone. Paul Lambert's men showed some backbone in this storming encounter, leaving the home side reeling. Tony Pulis' side did have a couple of penalty shouts denied, however, the last two goals showed the Clarets had and have the stamina and composure in them to score and win matches when it matters most, crucial in the relegation battle late on this season.

OMG!

Chelsea's and Sunderland's goals were all a bit of a(n) (un-)lucky collection of own goals, deflections and mishaps whilst West Brom's misses formed Arsenal's lucky escape at the Hawthorns. The Baggies kept the pressure up and especially after Per Mertesacker's stupid sending off had loads of chances to sink the Gunners in the last 19 minutes. But man-of-the-match Tomas Rosicky's double, his first goal since February 2012 and his first double for Arsene Wenger's side, proved to be enough to seal the deal and win. Arsenal hung on to the three points which took them above Chelsea into fourth place in the Premier League. 

TOP! & FLOP!

Southampton's form is going from strength to strength after recording their third win on the trot against Reading, impressing with the super-combo of Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez and moving them up into eleventh place, six points clear of the drop zone! Former Saints boss Nigel Adkins failed to impress or put much pressure against his former employers, the Royals faiding away, slumping to their seventh defeat in a row and remaining stuck at the bottom of the table, eight points from safety. Is it a lost cause for Adkins? They looked it! They are the only team to have recorded zero points in their last six games, followed by Stoke with one and Sunderland with two points. Meanwhile at the top of the table, Manchester City won the local derby battle, but can they grab the war back from United this late on in the season?

HERO!

Lowton's screamer for Villa as mentioned above and Papiss Cisse's dramatic stoppage time winner for Newcastle both deserved the vote this week. Without them their sides would be down in the relegation dumps for sure! Sergio Agueroooo won the derby for City with a smacker against United! The feisty encounter saw pleanty of tackles and yellows showing there was definitely still a fight on. But is it just a consolation or the start of an impossible comeback for City again? Only time will tell...

ZERO!

Arsenal's Mertesacker was rightly sent off for a stupid tackle against West Brom's Shane Long! Norwich's Grant Holt should have seen red for his evil challenge showing his studs against Swan Chico Flores and stamping on his shin! QPR's Bobby Zamora was sent walking for his high tackle on Wigan's Jordi Gomez making an already difficult job nigh on impossible for Rangers. Loic Remy should have been a hero for Harry Redknapp's side with his 85th minute stunner of a goal but instead saw his goal cancelled out by Shaun Maloney, four minutes into injury time, Adel Taarabt missing an easy block, ducking away and thereby failing miserably in doing his job in the wall! Tough luck for Redknapp and his Rangers, who remain 19th, seven points from safety.

My Predictions => Actual Results:
Reading 2-2 Southampton => 0-2
Nowich 0-0 Swansea => 2-2
Stoke 1-1 Aston Villa => 1-3
West Brom 0-1 Arsenal => 1-2
Liverpool 3-1 West Ham => 0-0
Tottenham 2-1 Everton => 2-2
Chelsea 4-0 Sunderland => 2-1
Newcastle 1-2 Fulham => 1-0
QPR 3-1 Wigan => 1-1
Man United 2-1 Man City => 1-2