Liverpool stopped in the semi-finals of the English League Cup

Shane Long's goal for Southampton in the 90+1 minute made the Anfield team lose 0-1 in the second leg on January 25 and be eliminated with a total score of 0-2.

Southampton had a 1-0 lead from the first leg at home, but still played well in the return match at Anfield. They could have taken the lead early in the first half, had Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius not been excellent in blocking Dusan Tadic's close-range shot, or had captain Steve Davis finished more neatly instead of sending the ball over the bar.

Liverpool had to wait until after the break to increase the tempo and completely control the game on the pitch. Many chances were created by that improvement of the home side. But on a bad day, they could not finish with a goal. Sturridge wasted two of his best chances, Emre Can was denied on the goal line by Southampton goalkeeper Forster, and the referee refused to award a penalty when Divock Origi went down after a collision with Jack Stephens.

As usual, Liverpool paid the price for squandering those chances. In the first minute of injury time, the whole Anfield stadium was dead silent when the visitors scored. Shane Long neatly finished Josh Sim's pass to seal a 1-0 victory in the second leg and a 2-0 aggregate victory for Southampton. Thanks to that, the team from the South of England reached the final for the first time in 47 years, where they will compete for the 2017 English League Cup on February 26, against the winner of the other semi-final between Hull City and Man Utd.

Reaching the final was a worthy achievement for Southampton after what they showed in the two semi-final matches. In both matches, they were without captain Virgil van Dijk, a defender who is being linked with a transfer, but still played powerful, highly organized football, with solid defense and deadly counter-attacks.

Reaching the League Cup final can be considered a surprise success because Southampton this season was rated much lower than last season, when they still had coach Ronald Koeman, stars Saido Mane, Victor Wanyama, who left in the summer of 2016. But this is also a great recognition for the efforts of new coach Claude Puel and his less famous players.

For Liverpool, the painful fall in the League Cup semi-final only highlighted their recent decline. In all competitions, Klopp's team have won just one of their seven games since the start of the new year, a replay win over fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle in the third round of the FA Cup. Their current poor form is in stark contrast to their attacking form that saw them climb to the top of the Premier League table at the start of the season.

In attack, the absence of Sadio Mane (who was away at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations) left Liverpool without the speed and power. Sturridge and Origi stepped in, but played below average. Meanwhile, Klopp’s decision to pair Can with Henderson in midfield was ineffective, raising questions about why the German coach did not look at Georginio Wijnaldum.

Liverpool also completely lost discipline in their playing style and organization when defending, leading to them continuously receiving painful slaps right at home, from Swansea and Southampton.

According to VNE