Having played most of the Cup with his second team, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp showed his intent on winning his first piece of silverware in England by opting to start with his first-choice team. Philippe Coutinho could only find a place on the bench as the Brazilian made his return from injury.

Liverpool, however, went down a goal in the very next minute as the Southampton front three of Tadic and Jay Rodriguez combined brilliantly to release Redmond who slotted the ball past the onrushing Karius to give the home side a much-deserved lead. 

After the interval, Southampton continued to create chances but Karius, who had been under some scrutiny before the match was proving a hard keeper to beat. On the other side of the pitch, the Merseyside club had been relegated to taking shots from distance. 

With just under 10 minutes on the clock, Southampton had a great chance to double their lead when Shane long crossed the ball in from the left wing after a lung-bursting run. Redmond went for a cheeky chip but the ball came off the crossbar. The players appealed for a goal, but replays clearly suggested that Dejan Lovren had stopped the ball from crossing the line.