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Stephens stepped in to replace team captain Virgil van Dijk and defended superbly alongside Maya Yoshida at the heart of the defence, while Josh Sims came on as a substitute to tee up Shane Long.
Puel reflected: “Jack played very well, like an experienced player with good technique and he was calm.
“He was strong in the duels and I’m happy for him because he’s another player from the Academy so congratulations to the trainers and the good work they keep doing for Southampton.
“It’s fantastic and at the end Josh Sims makes a good assist for Shane Long. All this is a good balance between experienced players and younger players.
“All the squad participated in this competition so it’s a good reward.”
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Video: Stephens on reaching Wembley
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 26/01/2017 05:58:44
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...self-importantly thought-up by Optimus trousers...beta v1.9 - now with EXTRA pictures!| Liverpool 0-1 Southampton: Five Things We Learnt | The Football LabTHEFOOTBALLLAB |
| | Virgil van Dijk to see second specialist over ankle injuryBELFASTTELE |
|| Klopp questions referee after Liverpool’s EFL Cup exitGOALDOTCOM |
|| Van Dijk to see second specialist over ankle injuryBTSPORT |
| | Southampton’s victory made sweeter after Liverpool’s cherry-pickingNBCSPORTS |
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Highlights: Liverpool 0-1 Saints
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Video: Long’s late strike sends Saints to Wembley
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Video: Long on momentous night
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90 in 90: Liverpool 0-1 Saints
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Liverpool’s worrying slump continues as Saints knock Reds out of EFL Cup
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Liverpool’s miserable start to 2017 continued as they slumped to their second home loss in four days, falling 1-0 to Southampton on Wednesday, having previously gone almost a year without losing at Anfield. Shane Long’s late breakaway strike was no more than Saints deserved, as they were the better side over the two semifinal legs, winning 2-0 on aggregate, and they have yet to concede a goal against Liverpool in three meetings this season.
We’re scraping the barrel here, but it’s far better to go out at the semifinal stage to Southampton than lose at Wembley to archrivals Manchester United.
Liverpool just don’t look capable of beating anybody right now. Any team that is organised in defence and poses a threat on the counter will fancy their chances of beating the Reds at this moment, as they are in a hugely worrying slump. This can’t all be down to the absence of Sadio Mane, surely?
4 (out of 10) – It almost feels as though it doesn’t matter what starting lineup Jurgen Klopp sends out, as Liverpool just have too many players not firing on all cylinders. He included Daniel Sturridge from the start, a decision that few could argue with, but the England man is just not getting it done, and he disappointed once again. Klopp’s substitutions are not having much of an impact recently, either.
Player ratings (1-10, with 10 the best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Loris Karius, 7 – The much-maligned young German has looked more assured in recent outings, and he made a terrific first-half save to thwart Dusan Tadic. He had no chance with Long’s stoppage-time winner.
DF Trent Alexander-Arnold, 6 – He had one or two difficult moments against Tadic and Nathan Redmond in the first half, but by and large, he stuck to his task well. He produced several good crosses that his teammates perhaps ought to have done better with.
DF Dejan Lovren, 6 – He didn’t have a great deal to do and spent much of the game in the Southampton half. One or two poor passes but generally used the ball efficiently.
DF Joel Matip, 5 – This was the Cameroon man’s first taste of defeat as a Liverpool player, unless you count the few seconds he was on the field against Swansea last weekend. He looked rusty on his return to the side and was caught flat-footed by the pacy Redmond on a couple occasions in the first half.
DF James Milner, 6 – He started shakily and gave possession away cheaply on a few occasions but never let it affect his willingness to get involved. He wireless in his running up and down the left flank, but the quality was not always there with his crossing. As with many of his teammates, his form has tailed off in recent weeks.
MF Jordan Henderson, 6 – He tried his best to drive the team on and performed adequately enough. He was not at his best, but that’s understandable, given that he’s playing through a painful heel injury.
MF Emre Can, 6 – This was a slightly improved showing from the out-of-form German. He showed good strength and determination to win back possession on several occasions and went closest to a goal when his powerful shot was almost fumbled over the line by Saints keeper Fraser Forster. He was replaced late on for tactical reasons.
MF Adam Lallana, 5 – He worked as hard as ever, but it just wasn’t happening for him against his former side. Very little he tried came off, and this was a game he’ll want to forget in a hurry.
FW Roberto Firmino, 5 – Some nice touches and nifty footwork on occasion, but he drifted in and out of the game and couldn’t make the impact Liverpool needed him to. He’s far better when deployed as a centre-forward, but the absence of Mane has forced Klopp to look for another solution on the right, and this time it was Firmino’s turn to unsuccessfully fill in for the Senegal man.
FW Daniel Sturridge, 4 – This was another worrying performance from the struggling front man. He missed a couple relatively straightforward chances in the second half and looks slow and short of confidence.
FW Philippe Coutinho, 5 – He saw as much of the ball as anybody but struggled to do anything with it. Much of his possession was too far away from the Southampton goal, though he did go very close with a trademark curling effort late. He was substituted as a precaution in the closing stages. This was not the way he’d have wanted to celebrate signing a new contract.
FW Divock Origi, NR – Origi replaced Can as Klopp looked to get more firepower on the pitch. He barely touched the ball but had a penalty appeal turned down just before Southampton’s late winner.
MF Georginio Wijnaldum, NR – He was brought on for Coutinho in the closing stages and had no time to make any impression.
Dave Usher is one of ESPN FC’s Liverpool bloggers. Follow him on Twitter: @theliverpoolway.
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Liverpool 0 Southampton 1 (Agg 0-2): Long stuns Klopp’s men to book place in EFL Cup final
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Forster somehow kept out Emre Can’s long-range shot at the second attempt as the Saints went marching on from Anfield to Wembley. But a pace in the EFL Cup final was no more than Claude Puel’s men deserved after dominating for long spells before substitute Shane Long put the hosts out of their misery in stoppage time to secure a famous 2-0 aggregate win. The visitors had missed the best chances of the night to kill off Jurgen Klopp’s men, who must feel like starting 2017 all over again. The Reds have won just one game since the start of the year and have scored six goals in their last seven games. The problems are mounting for Klopp, who up until last night had won all six of his semi-finals as a boss. But his perfect record was put into cold storage on a freezing night on Merseyside that saw the Reds fail to warm to the task.
The Reds used to win this competition for fun, lifting it four times on the spin at the start of the 1980s. But times have changed and the 2012 triumph under former boss Kenny Dalglish still remains the club’s only trophy success in the last decade. The story couldn’t be more positive for Puel, who replaced Ronald Koeman at the start of this season and is now on the verge of winning the club’s first major trophy since the FA Cup in 1976. The tone of the game appeared set from the start, with the Saints happy to sit deep and let Klopp’s men have the ball. But Puel’s men were not afraid to hit the Reds on the break, with the impressive Nathan Redmond causing the home defence problems whenever he had the ball. Despite being penned in their own half the Saints created the best chance of the game nine minutes before half time.
Puel’s men might have seen less of the ball but they were doing much more with it than the home side when they had it. A flowing move saw Ryan Bertrand set Redmond charging free but when he squared to Dusan Tadic, he somehow failed to beat Loris Karius from eight yards out. Moments later the Saints blew another golden chance to take the lead when Davies ballooned a shot over the crossbar following another storming run from Redmond. He should have scored - let alone hit the target - and if he had then perhaps the Saints could have started thinking about getting measured up for their Wembley suits. The longer the game went on the more it became clear the Saints were giving their rivals a footballing lesson - but would they live to regret the missed chances? They almost did on 54 minutes when Can took aim with a powerful drive that Forster appeared to have fumbled into his own goal - until he somehow turned round to claw the ball to safety before it had crossed the line. Klopp’s men were building up a head of steam but it just didn’t feel like being their night.
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Chelsea’s Franck Kessie bid knocked back; Saints in for Manolo Gabbiadini
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The winter transfer window is now in full swing! As usual, Transfer Talk has its finger on the pulse when it comes to which rumours are picking up steam. Check out all the latest deals here.
Chelsea have submitted an astonishing £27 million bid for Franck Kessie and the Star claims Atalanta have rejected it in a defiant act to keep hold of their super talent.
The Blues are keen on the midfielder – who has been likened in style to Yaya Toure – with Antonio Conte eager to strengthen his squad.
The 20-year-old’s powerful, box-to-box displays have earned him rave reviews this season in Serie A with La Dea now desperate to fight off interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Kessie is not the only Atalanta player interesting Chelsea and Gazzetta dello Sport believes Conte is lining up a move for their right-back Andrea Conti as well.
The Italy Under-21 international is valued at around €15m with La Liga side Sevilla also thought to be interested.
Atalanta will try to keep hold of the 22-year-old until the summer with the Blues seeing him as potential competition for Victor Moses.
Buoyed by reaching the League Cup final after defeating Liverpool, the Mail believes Southampton could receive more good news in the coming days with a £17.5m move for Manolo Gabbiadini.
The Napoli striker is valued at £18m, but Saints only want to fork out an initial £14m with a further £3.5m coming in add-ons.
Partenopei director Cristiano Giuntoli is expected to initiate discussions ahead of the weekend with Claude Puel desperate for a striker to replace Charlie Austin.
West Ham have agreed a £10m fee with Hull for Robert Snodgrass with the local Daily Mail reporting the Hammers are determined to beat Burnley for the Scot’s signature.
The Clarets had a bid accepted on Wednesday for the Tigers’ No.10, but will now brace themselves with Snodgrass set to decide which club he prefers to join.
Marco Silva will hope a deal can be pushed through as quickly as possible in order to release as much funds as possible to strengthen the team in their uphill battle to beat the drop.
- Middlesbrough have a fight to hold on to Gaston Ramirez with The Sun revealing that the Uruguayan has asked to leave.
The former Southampton star is intent on joining Leicester and hopes to push through a move before the end of the window.
- Sunderland’s Patrick Van Aanholt’s move to Crystal Palace could be edging closer as the Mail believes David Moyes has identified Swansea’s Neil Taylor as a replacement.
Everton’s Costa Rica international Bryan Oviedo is another potential replacement for the Dutchman, who could cost the Eagles £12m.
- Norwich are close to snapping up Dutch left-back Marvin Zeegelaar with the Mirror revealing a £3.5m deal is in place to replace Martin Olsson.
Swansea bought the Norway international for £4m and the Sporting Lisbon full-back is now set to fill the void at Carrow Road.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 26/01/2017 06:58:48
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| Klopp rues penalty decisionSPLIFE |
| | Shane Long Rocks Liverpool as Southampton Reach League Cup Final – NDTV SportsNDTVCOM |
| | Long’s late strike sees Saints march onIRISHINDEP |
| | Shane Long hammer wraps up Wembley date for SouthamptonIRISHEXAMINER |
|| Puel wants EFL Cup glory after ‘deserved’ Liverpool winGOALDOTCOM |
|| Liverpool (0) Southampton (1): A Night of Firsts as Reds Continue to Turn PurplePAISLEYGATES |
| | Liverpool 0-1 Southampton (0-2) - Reds continue to suffer the January bluesANFIELDONLINE |
| | Claude Puel: Southampton not going to Wembley to make up the numbers | Outside90OUTSIDE90 |
| | Southampton stand tall after outwitting LiverpoolJAPANTODAY |
| | The moment Saints sealed EFL Cup final spot - Southampton FCDUGOUT | ...enthusedly cast by Optimus trousers...beta v1.9 - now with EXTRA pictures!
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In case you somehow missed it last night, #SaintsFC are off to Wembley!
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 26/01/2017 07:59:41
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| Do Arsenal need to take Southampton seriously? | Just Arsenal NewsJUSTARSENALNEWS |
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Long describes the moment he sent Saints to Wembley
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GOAL hero Shane Long has urged Saints to take this “great” opportunity to win a major trophy after he fired Claude Puel’s side into the final of the League Cup.
With Saints besieged in their own half at Anfield, and their 1-0 aggregate lead coming under immense scrutiny by wave after wave of Liverpool attacks in the semi-final second leg, Long sent the travelling fans into delirium by scoring a 90th-minute breakaway goal.
It was also a goal that put the tie beyond Jurgen Klopp’s side with just moments left, and sent Saints to their first major final since the FA Cup in 2003.
“It’s amazing,” said Long. “Obviously coming to a place like Anfield with the players they have, the team they have and the support they have, it’s always going to be a hard task.
“To dig in like we did and keep them quiet and obviously get the winner in front of our own fans was an amazing feeling.”
“We broke and I think I was at the edge of the six-yard box and tried to get forward and help out Simsy (Josh Sims) and I think he saw me early,” Long says, as he describes his goal with a wide smile.
“He did a great thing when he turned inside and committed Jordan Henderson to the ball and I managed to take a touch and slot it past the keeper.
“It’s just an amazing feeling knowing that there was only two or three minutes left, and they needed two goals to have any chance of getting to extra time. We knew that was that and we’re on our way to Wembley.”
It was the Republic of Ireland international’s third goal of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Saints.
The 30-year-old was delighted that Saints have now started to atone for some of the disappoints of this campaign so far.
He said: “We’ve got a great squad here, some great players. We’re disappointed with how we’re doing in the league and Europe didn’t go to plan either, so it’s nice to reward our fans and ourselves for the hard work we’ve put in by getting to a final.
“We haven’t done it the easy way. We’ve beaten Palace, Sunderland, Arsenal and now Liverpool. That’s all Premier League teams to get to the final and we deserve to be there.
“It’s going to be a tough game there as well, but one we’ll be ready for.”
After beating four Premier League sides on the way to the final – including Arsenal and now Liverpool – without conceding a single goal, Long admits that they got a huge opportunity at their feet.
“It’s a massive thing for a club like Southampton to get to a final and for us players it doesn’t come round too often to get that silverware to look back on your career and show off,” he said.
“ It’s great opportunity for us and we will go there fully ready to win, but it’s not going to be easy.”
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Saints not in the League Cup final “to just participate” says James Ward-Prowse
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JAMES Ward-Prowse insists that Saints have not got to the League Cup final “to just participate”.
Claude Puel’s side have beaten four Premier League sides on the way to the Wembley final, including Arsenal, before reaching Wembley following their 2-0 aggregate triumph over Liverpool in the semi-final.
Saints will now face either Manchester United or Hull in the final, and Ward-Prowse wants to grasp the opportunity with both hands after already getting past tough opponents in previous rounds.
United lead Hull 2-0 going into this evening’s deciding leg at the KCOM Stadium.
“It’s something you find hard to describe,” he said, when asked how he felt to get to Wembley. “It means a lot to everyone and obviously us young lads that have come through the academy to play a part in that is great.
“It’s obviously going to be a great day out, but it’s not something we’re looking to just participate in.
“We’re looking to go and win now.”
Ward-Prowse is pleased that Saints have “finally managed” to put a fruitful cup run.
“It means everything,” he said. “We’ve spoken about having a good cup run for years and we’ve finally managed to do that and given ourselves a big chance to go and win some silverware.”
Shane Long was the hero of the night as Saints defeated Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield to secure a 2-0 win overall in the semi-final across the two legs.
But, on top of praising the Irishman, Ward-Prowse was eager to hail the performance of the whole team.
“That’s Shane (Long) in a nutshell,” he said, referring to his 90th minute winner. “He’s quick and he’s clinical in front of goal.
“ The whole team performance was great and the way we were disciplined in our defending, we knew we could get a chance and be clinical when the chances came.”
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Understated Puel’s “not bad” achievement
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Claude Puel took a moment to reflect on leading Saints to a major cup final in his first season in charge of the club and smiled “it’s not bad.”
The understated Saints manager has been a quiet and calm presence since taking over from Ronald Koeman, and was just as level headed after victory at Anfield booked the Wembley showpiece final in the League Cup.
Puel allowed himself a wry grin as he took it all in and joked: “It’s not bad.
“It’s fantastic. I am happy for all the squad because they work very hard since the beginning of the season and play all these games every three days which is very difficult.
“Often they can do fantastic work on the pitch without the good reward and today I think it’s fantastic to win this game, to see the qualify for Wembley and to have all this for the staff, the player and our fans.
“We have fantastic fans, Inter Milan away with 8,000 fans was fantastic and every time and every game they come and it’s a fantastic reward for all the good work.
“It’s not finished now. It’s interesting of course to go to Wembley and it’s not just to participate but to win this game.
“We have time to prepare this game.”
Puel enjoyed a successful managerial career in France before joining Saints, but his achievements this season place him in the bracket of Lawrie McMenemy and Gordon Strachan in terms of getting the club to a major final.
However, Puel was not interested in discussing how big this is for him.
“For me it’s not important,” he insisted. “It’s important for the players, for the squad, for the fans, and I am happy for them.
“For me it’s my work, and I was frustrated since the beginning of the season because we can do good work, good football and good play on the ground without often the good reward and it was important to know a good emotion. This is perfect.”
Saints without doubt deserved to get through over the two legs against Liverpool.
They restricted the Reds to very few chances, with the biggest heart in mouth moment coming when Fraser Forster spilled an Emre Can shot but just about clawed it back before it could cross the line.
“I think it was a good thing, a fantastic save, and important of course and he can do the job very well but all the players around him give the opportunity to stay with a clean sheet,” reflected Puel.
“Two games with a clean sheet against Liverpool is strong work for all the team.
“In the first leg Liverpool didn’t have a lot of chances and this is good work and for us important also to get many chances without clinical sometimes.”
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