Sourced from Daily Echo article
THE VERDICT: What a moment for under fire Puel
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For all the ups and downs of this season, and all the harsh words and frustration that have accompanied some of the football, what a magnificent pay-off, and what a moment for Claude Puel.
His reception has been lukewarm from sections of the fans that have sometimes felt a little let down by what has been offered up by Saints this season.
Whether that is fair or not is a matter for debate, but now Puel will, in just his first season with the club, go down in history with Saints’ most legendary managers.
Lawrie McMenemy will forever be remembered for what he did in 1976.
Gordon Strachan came close in 2003, but, despite defeat, will always retain a special place in Saints hearts.
And now, in 2017, we can add the name of Claude Puel.
He will have the honour of leading Saints out at Wembley on February 26, for a first major cup final for the club in 14 years.
The rarity of the occasion for Saints only amplifies its magnitude.
And they did it against the odds too.
They beat Arsenal in the quarter-final and, remarkably, Liverpool over two legs in the semis.
What’s more they deserved it too. This was no lucky break.
If anything, they might have won by a more comfortable margin than 2-0 on aggregate.
The second leg being away just made it an even more amazing achievement.
Anfield was set for one of its classic midweek matches, an electric atmosphere under the floodlights.
It had all the feeling of a massive game even a few hours before kick-off, and the red hot heat of the crowd noise made it intimidating.
Well, it could have made it intimidating, but Saints’ players didn’t seem particularly intimidated, not even Jack Stephens, making a rare start in place of the club’s talisman Virgil van Dijk.
Even that couldn’t derail Saints, who got what they deserved having not conceded a goal in the competition up until now.
What was remarkable about the first half was just how eerily similar it was to the game at St Mary’s.
Any thoughts that Liverpool might go a little more direct early in order to fly out of the traps and put Saints under pressure from the off were dispelled as Jurgen Klopp’s side opted for patience.
Just as at St Mary’s they were happy to keep possession deep, to probe, to often go very narrow in their attack.
That suited Saints just fine. They were disciplined, organised and motivated.
They worked tirelessly to keep their shape and with Liverpool playing so centrally they had a containment job they could more than manage.
And, just like the first leg, it was they who had the best chances on the counter.
While the best Liverpool could manage in the first 45 was shots from around the edge of the box by Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino that were both straight at Fraser Forster, Saints were rampant.
They could have, and should have, extended their advantage as they created two golden openings in the space of three minutes.
Both came from quick counter attacking runs from Nathan Redmond down the left.
For the first he cut back to Dusan Tadic, whose finish was stopped at his feet by Loris Karius as he charged off his line.
The second, six minutes before the break, was a cut back to Steven Davis, who held onto the ball despite a challenge but then fired over the bar from eight yards out.
With the misses from the first leg it was five and counting from Saints and they were desperately hoping it wouldn’t cost them.
The second half finally brought about the Liverpool onslaught most had anticipated from the moment the draw was made.
Even with Claude Puel bringing on Shane Long for Jay Rodriguez to offer his side more legs up top, it was much more about a rear-guard effort.
Saints’ goal lived a charmed life as the pressure slowly but surely was turned up notch by notch by notch.
There was a real heart in mouth moment on 53 minutes as Emre Can fired in a shot from 20 yards out that Forster looked to have under control but spilled.
It looped back towards the goal but the big keeper recovered magnificently to paw it away, with goalline technology showing only part rather than the whole of the ball had crossed the line.
Sturridge had two great chances, firing over an acrobatic effort from inside the six yard box when he should have scored before putting over again, this time when getting between Jack Stephens and Ryan Bertrand to meet James Milner’s left wing cross.
Philippe Coutinho was the next to get a sniff of goal but barely made any contact with Firmino’s right wing centre before the Brazilian made a great connection with a long range shot that whistled just wide.
The decisive minutes came in the dying seconds.
Liverpool had a huge appeal for a penalty waved away by Martin Atkinson – having already been denied for a handball shout against Long - as Divock Origi went down under the challenge of Stephens. Even numerous replays proved inconclusive as to whether he got much of the ball or the man.
Saints were weathering the Liverpool storm well still, but in injury time they wrapped it up.
Another quick counter attack did the job, with Steven Davis finding Josh Sims, who pushed on and fed it to Long, who produced a brilliant finish into the far corner to send the Saints fans directly in front of him into ecstasy.
What a remarkable season this is.
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