Nathan Redmond strike hands Southampton advantage

Nathan Redmond struck the only goal of a tight contest as Southampton edged to a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final at St Mary's.

The Saints winger calmly stroked the ball home after Ragnar Klavan's error had allowed Jay Rodriguez to put his team-mate clear on 20 minutes.

Liverpool had recalled their big name stars following the 0-0 draw with League Two outfit Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, but they struggled to find their usual rhythm in attack as Claude Puel's men were content to sit deep and frustrate.

The visitors dominated possession but were grateful to much-maligned stopper Loris Karius for keeping out two other efforts from Redmond, who also hit the crossbar late on.

The saves could yet prove significant in the context of this tie as the Merseysiders will be confident they can overturn the narrow deficit when the teams reconvene for the second leg at Anfield on Wednesday January 25.

Jurgen Klopp will also be buoyed by the return to fitness of talisman Philippe Coutinho, who appeared as a second-half substitute ahead of Sunday's crunch clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Loris Karius keeps Liverpool alive. After an inauspicious start to his Liverpool career that saw him heavily criticised by pundits before being dropped, Karius responded with arguably his best showing for the Merseysiders so far. It wasn't a great night for Klopp and his team but one of the few positives - other than Coutinho's return - was seeing the goalkeeper he signed in the summer respond to his critics with a much better display on the pitch. The German is still adapting to the English game and while this won't see him reinstated as the No.1 Reds keeper in the league, it will give his confidence a much-needed boost.

Virgil van Dijk (Southampton): Magnificent throughout as Southampton easily stifled Liverpool's star-studded attack.

Southampton: Forster 6, Cedric 8, van Dijk 8, Yoshida 7, Bertrand 7, Clasie 7, Romeu 7, Davis 7, Tadic 7, Redmond 8, Rodriguez 7. Subs: Hojbjerg 6, Long n/a, Ward-Prowse n/a.

Liverpool: Karius 7, Clyne 6, Lovren 6, Klavan 5, Milner 6, Lucas 5, Can 5, Wijnaldum 5, Lallana 6, Firmino 6, Sturridge 5. Subs: Coutinho 6, Origi n/a.

18' - LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Forster pushes away Firmino's volley after Lallana had nodded Can's chipped ball into the Brazilian's path 10 yards from goal.

19' - SOUTHAMPTON CHANCE! Karius with a smart block with his left boot after Redmond had been left in the clear at the back post to take down Cedric's cross and line up the shot.

20' - GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Liverpool. Klavan completely misses a clearance which allows Rodriguez to play in Redmond to fire past Karius. The Saints have the edge!

43' - SOUTHAMPTON CHANCE! Southampton carve Liverpool apart on the left through Bertrand and Tadic. It's rolled back for Redmond who sees his thumping shot brilliantly kept out by Karius.

67' - SOUTHAMPTON CHANCE! Southampton counter from a Liverpool corner. Redmond leads the charge and slips in the overlapping Cedric who loses his composure as he lashes a shot wide of the near post. He had time there with Rodriguez making his way to the far post. Let off for the visitors.

84' - OFF THE BAR! An error by Lucas allows Long to race into the area from the left. The forward picks out Redmond with a lovely ball to the far post where the winger sees his clipped effort bounce back off the crossbar.

Redmond ended a run of 15 games in all competitions without a goal for Southampton.

Southampton have kept more clean sheets than any other team in the League Cup this season (4).

Liverpool have failed to score in consecutive matches (all comps) under Jurgen Klopp for the first time since Feb 2016 (3 games).