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Arne Slot insists Liverpool must defend their Carabao Cup crown after securing a place in the bottom four following a 2-1 win over Southampton at St Mary’s.
Despite a much-changed squad, Slot’s side emerged victorious thanks to first-half goals from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott on a rainy afternoon on the south coast.
Cameron Archer halved the deficit on the hour mark as Southampton, under caretaker manager Simon Rusk following the sacking of Russell Martin on Sunday, put in a spirited second-half performance.
But it was the champions and current Premier League leaders who progressed, with Slot stressing the importance of retaining the trophy after the match.
“We have to defend the trophy because the club won it last season,” Slot told Sky Sports.
“I wasn’t involved, but the players were and Jürgen (Klopp) and his staff, of course.
“We want to compete in all the cups and we are happy to have reached the semi-final. It is always a tough competition, but this time it will be.”
“We have to defend the trophy” 🏆
Arne Slot shares his thoughts on Liverpool’s progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals 💭 pic.twitter.com/1GMEHTeL0X
– Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 18, 2024
Slot, who due to a sideline suspension after receiving a third yellow card of the season in the 2-2 draw against Fulham, watched the game from the top of the stands.
And the Liverpool manager was very pleased with his team’s performance, but admitted their standards dipped at times.
“The first half was really good,” Slot said. “It was a good performance, we played very well.
“But it wasn’t a total surprise to concede the goal because I think we started to be a little careless before. We lost one or two easy balls.”
The Reds will return to league action on Sunday when they visit Tottenham, who will face Manchester United in the final Carabao Cup quarter-final match on Thursday night.
