Successive defeats at Anfield have piled the pressure on Klopp’s misfiring team when Championship side Wolves visit in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday
There was no disguising the EFL Cup mattered to Jürgen Klopp or that the momentum and cutting edge that propelled Liverpool until new year has vanished at a critical juncture. Wembley also disappeared from view on a painful night for Klopp’s team as Southampton executed their game-plan to perfection at Anfield. A job well done by Claude Puel, and a job done on Liverpool.
Since victory at Burton Albion in the opening round, the Liverpool manager had made no secret of his ambition to reach the final and to go one better than last season’s penalty shoot-out defeat against Manchester City. Those hopes were ruined by wasteful finishing, a lack of invention and another resolute display from Puel’s side. Klopp insisted there was nothing wrong with his team’s creativity in the semi-final, that only their finishing was amiss. However, Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida were composure personified at the heart of the Southampton defence, and the merits of their victory over two legs was unquestioned.
Related: Claude Puel close to completing Southampton’s journey in EFL Cup final
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