Southampton interim boss Simon Rusk felt his side was unfortunate to lose against Liverpool in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup, with goals from Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez in the first half sealing the Reds' victory.
"I think maybe on the second half display we feel a little bit hard done by," he said during his post-match press conference. "I thought we were unlucky with the moment of the first goal, and I think maybe if we can get to 30 minutes and it's 0-0 [it would be different]."
Instead, Liverpool went in comfortably two goals to the good at the interval. While Cameron Archer found the back of the net with a brilliant strike from distance after the break, Arne Slot's side was able to sail through to the last four, where it will discover its next opponent in Thursday's draw.
Late in the game, referee Simon Hooper waved away a strong shout for a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area that would have seen Jarell Quansah get sent off had it been given. He had hold of Mateus Fernandes but the on-field official was unmoved and there was no VAR to intervene.
"I've not seen it back yet but it looked like it was certainly one to think about in terms of a free-kick in and around the box at the end, being the last man," Rusk said, refusing to make too much of a statement on the matter. "But yeah, credit to the lads."
Liverpool.com says: If Quansah had been sent off, that would have felt harsh. He needs a solid run in the team to rebuild his confidence and he would have been unfortunate to see red. It was a decision that could have gone either way, ultimately. With VAR, he might well have been made to walk.