Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliot's first-half strikes were enough to see Liverpool edge managerless Southampton 2-1 at St. Mary's to reach the EFL Cup semi-finals. 

Arne Slot made eight changes to the side that drew against Fulham, leaving the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah at home, but that made little difference for the Reds. 

Nunez ended his recent goal drought in the 24th minute to put his side ahead, latching on to Trent Alexander-Arnold's deflected through ball before slotting past Alex McCarthy. 

And the visitors doubled their lead with nine minutes remaining of the opening period as Elliott gathered Cody Gakpo's pass before finishing right-footed into the far-left corner. 

After pushing Liverpool all the way in their Premier League meeting last month, Southampton reduced the deficit in the 59th minute courtesy of Cameron Archer's curled finish. 

Caoimhin Kelleher was then forced into saves from Yukinari Sugawara and Mateus Fernandes shortly afterwards, but the Saints' considerable pressure did not yield an equaliser.

Data Debrief: Reds flex their muscles

Slot appeared to give Southampton a chance by omitting numerous first-team stars, fielding the likes of Tyler Morton and Treymaurice Nyoni from the start, but in actuality, it was difficult to tell the difference for much of this game, as Liverpool's back-up players served up a mature performance.

Jarell Quansah certainly replaced the distribution of Van Dijk at centre-back, completing 92 passes at a success rate of 95.8%, while Nyoni made his influence felt all over the pitch on full debut, playing 19 of his 59 passes in the final third.

Upfront, it was an authoritative display from experienced duo Nunez and Gakpo. The Uruguayan posted a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 0.76, while Gakpo created more chances (four) than anyone on the pitch. 

Their efforts secured Liverpool a third EFL Cup semi-final in four seasons – with the Reds going on to win the trophy on both of the two previous occasions.