Southampton success must be the story after reaching cup final, not Liverpool failure

Southampton overcame Liverpool to reach the EFL Cup final. In the aftermath, the story should be exactly that. Not about Liverpool and their failures.

Southampton were the clear underdogs ahead of their two-legged EFL Cup semifinal tie with Liverpool. In the end, the underdogs won out as the Saints overcame Jurgen Klopp’s men over two tight games to book their place at Wembley on Sunday February 26.

Unfortunately, the focus will now predictably turn towards Liverpool and how they managed to screw up a tie they were favorites to win. However, Southampton outplayed the Reds over two legs and deserve not only their place in the final, but also the credit for getting this far.

Claude Puel’s team didn’t even concede a goal on their way to the final. And their run wasn’t exactly a cake walk, with Southampton facing only Premier League team’s from beginning to end. The run started with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace back in September.

Then Sunderland visited St. Mary’s and went down 1-0 to a Sofiane Boufal goal. A trip to Arsenal followed in the quarterfinals, and, once again, Southampton came out victorious. A 2-0 away win setting up the semifinal tie with Liverpool.

Two 1-0 wins saw Puel’s men past the Reds, and now they will await either Manchester United or Hull City in the final. It shouldn’t be overlooked, either, how Southampton are not exactly flying in the Premier League right now.

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The team have won just one of their last five games, with a win over Leicester City last time out, but four consecutive defeats prior to that. The team are also struggling to score goals. But still, a fantastic team effort got them through at Anfield.

Puel even had to juggle his pack with a disruptive January still ongoing. Jose Fonte left for West Ham after seven years at the club. Whilst Fonte’s center-back partner, Virgil van Dijk, suffered an injury and could now potentially be sidelined for around three months.

So a partnership of Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens were thrown together at Anfield. Both performed incredibly well and surely settled any prior nerves that fans may have had about the pairing. Stephens in particular put in a very mature performance for his age and inexperience.

Of course, Liverpool did miss chances in the game. The home team could also have had a penalty or two on another day. Klopp’s men are also in a run of bad form right now. But the story from this semifinal should be Southampton and their cup success so far.

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Not just Southampton fans, but any fans around the middle of the Premier League standings or lower, wait years for days and moments like these. Some never ever get them. So now Saints are in the final, a story of joy and achievement should be told. Not one of failure.

And the story’s not even got an ending yet…

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