Intimate look at the Liverpool youngsters who left a mark vs Southampton

Liverpool continued their sensational march on all fronts by reaching the semi-finals of this season’s Carabao Cup by beating Southampton last night in their quarter-final tie.

It was anything but smooth sailing for the Reds, however, as Southampton, under interim boss Simon Rusk after dismissing Russell Martin over the weekend after their 5-0 demolishing at the hands of Tottenham, came back into the game in the second half, but Arne Slot’s men were more than up to the task and managed to see the game through.

Both of the Liverpool goals came into the first half itself courtesy of strikes from Darwin Núñez (24′) and Harvey Elliott (32′). Cameron Archer’s 59th-minute goal for the Saints, as mentioned, went in vain.

Elliott, delivering a goal on the day in the absence of the on-fire Mo Salah as he occupied the right flank, was far from the only youngster shining for Liverpool on the night. Owing to their dominance in all competitions, Liverpool resorted to fielding a relatively weaker and younger side last night, but the deputies got the job done all the same.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the other Liverpool youngsters who were handed a chance on the night and duly came through for Slot.

The 21-year-old Jarell Quansah started at right centre-back for Liverpool yesterday and was his usual reliant self. Alongside Wataru Endō, who in particular shone as his partner on the night as a centre-back instead of occupying his usual defensive midfield berth, proved more than capable of seeing the game through.

Yesterday’s performance at the back has the potential to revitalise Endō’s career at Anfield, who up until recently has mostly looked out of place under Slot and has been linked with an exit. Quansah, on the other hand, continues calming the Red nerves with his performances, ensuring the fanbase that they may not need to look for too many, too expensive defensive propositions to strengthen the defence line featuring an ageing Virgil van Dijk.

In the midfield, the pivot featured an entirely new pairing of Tyler Morton and Trey Nyoni. The 17-year-old almost played the full 90 minutes and looked like an able deputy in the absence of his seniors, while Morton, who is comparatively more used to featuring for the senior side, also looked at home in the midfield. Morton was moved to the right-back slot after Trent Alexander-Arnold was taken off at half-time, and even though the 22-year-old displayed some teething pains, he didn’t look too out of place, showcasing to Slot that he too may be able to operate out wide at the back in case Alexander-Arnold becomes unavailable midway through the season.

In the midfield, we also saw James McConnell make an appearance in the second half. The 20-year-old is capable of both advanced and pivot operations, and given Liverpool’s particular lack of personnel in the midfield, he can be expected to feature more frequently as the season progresses.

At the front of the pitch, minutes were given to the 18-year-old Jayden Danns. The 2006-born England U18 international has had an exemplary youth record for Liverpool and looks set for more chances in the senior setup in the coming months.

The performances of these youngsters, both those who are expected to come off the bench every now and then and those who hardly feature at all, bode really well for Arne Slot and Co. Going into the second half of the season, things are hardly going to get any easier for them, so knowing that they can rely on the young ones to step up makes things just that bit easier for Liverpool and even more ominous for their opponents.

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It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if Slot were to ask the youngsters who shone yesterday to build upon their performances in the semi-final legs and, if it comes to that, the final in February.

The draw for the semi-final ties of this season’s Carabao Cup will be announced later tonight after the final quarter-final tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United is played out.