Unfamiliar team produces familiar result – 5 talking points from Southampton 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool progress to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, meaning more chances of silverware but also more games.

Southampton 1-2 Liverpool

Carabao Cup Quarter-Final | St Mary’s
December 18, 2024

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

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1. Many changes, same Liverpool

Arne Slot made eight changes to his Liverpool lineup from the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Fulham.

Young players such as Jarell Quansah, Trey Nyoni, Tyler Morton and Harvey Elliott were given starts, while Caoimhin Kelleher was back in the lineup for Carabao Cup duties even though Alisson is available again.

The Brazilian goalkeeper didn’t even make the trip south, and neither did Curtis Jones, Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Mohamed Salah or Luis Diaz.

Despite this, the Liverpool performance was fairly similar to the successful displays seen under Slot so far this season.

At times it felt like they were vulnerable, but the data shows otherwise with Southampton‘s xG down at 0.32 and Liverpool’s up at 1.66 according to FotMob.

By the end of the game, James McConnell and Jayden Danns were also on the pitch, with Slot using the players available to him even with the game in a tricky situation and far from won.

There was a scare when Quansah might have given away a penalty near the end, or a free-kick on the edge of the box, but nothing was given and this much-changed lineup held on for yet another Liverpool win.

 

2. Endo’s role

The lineups had Wataru Endo down as a centre-back and though some of the time he did position himself as the left of a defensive pairing with Quansah, this wasn’t his only role.

He could regularly be seen in midfield and could even be found on the edge of the area at times.

It was Endo who started the move that led to the second goal, scored by Elliott, and even after making that pass to Cody Gakpo he was bursting forward into midfield to support the attack.

Endo has been out of favour for much of Slot’s time at the club so far, but this was a role that had great responsibility attacked and required plenty of tactical discipline.

And perhaps it was a performance that could earn him more minutes going forward.

 

3. New signing spotted on south coast

This season Liverpool have been a team whose early impressive performances have come through coaching, the quality of existing players and the quick adaptation to Slot’s methods.

They have been the best team in Europe without fielding a new signing. Barely, anyway.

Federico Chiesa was the only player signed in the summer and this game was only the second occasion in which he has played a half of football or more for the club.

A nutmeg down by the touchline drew appreciation even from the Southampton fans nearby, but he should have done better with a chance close to goal in the second half. He looked unsure as to whether to shoot or set up a teammate and in the end did neither.

Later in the game he showed some glimpses of what he could bring, and only a couple of heroic Southampton blocks kept him from the scoresheet.

Regardless of performance, which was encouraging, it was refreshing to see a new, unfamiliar player on the pitch, and he could be useful in the second half of the season, even though we’re not yet sure exactly what he can offer.

 

4. Good progress: more games

Liverpool have a good lead in the Premier League but things can change quickly and it’s on the league where the focus of the club should remain at this moment in time.

Despite making plenty of changes to the team, Slot’s side still managed to progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals which means at least two more games added to the calendar.

For some reason, these semi-finals are still two-legged, adding more unnecessary matches.

There is also the FA Cup to come in January, plus the return of the Champions League which will be another priority along with the Premier League, though the good performance in the league phase means Liverpool get a bye to the last 16.

A good team brings more games, and the key now is for Slot to make sure his team are not a victim of their early success.

 

5. Jota a risk?

Despite the heavy rotation for this game, Slot still gave minutes to players who would be considered important starters.

Diogo Jota, who has been injury-prone during his time at Liverpool, was given around 30 minutes at the end of the game at a time when he’ll be desperately needed in the Premier League.

There might normally be a temptation to give such a player the day off for such a game, but this group works differently.

It fits in with the idea the current Liverpool coaching staff seem to have of keeping everyone active and involved.

The rest for so many other first-teamers for this game was quite rare, but they are not in the same position as Jota who probably benefits from the minutes.

The staff likely think Jota needs to get into the same rhythm as all the others, and that getting some match fitness and minutes under the belt is more important than rest when it comes to staying injury-free for someone in his situation.