Southampton booked their place in the EFL Cup final at Wembley, after shutting out Liverpool on a historic night under the lights at Anfield.
Shane Long struck in stoppage time from Josh Sims's run and pass to make it 2-0 on aggregate and send Saints to Wembley as the only team ever in the competition to keep a clean sheet in every round en-route to the final.
With Virgil van Dijk out injured, youngster Jack Stephens stepped up to help Saints record another vital shut out on the night, as Saints delivered a near perfect performance to seal their progress.
Only two managers in Gordon Strachan and Lawrie McMenemy, had led the club to a major final post-war, before Claude Puel executed the perfect game plan to preserve his unbeaten spell against the Reds.
shane long
it was an amazing feeling in front of your own fans and there's a lot of hard work that goes into that. it was a bit of relief but we were just ecstatic at the end.
southampton forward
jack stephens
it was a real battle for us, especially in the second half. but we created chances and could have scored a couple ourselves, so we more than deserved to go through.
southampton defender
claude puel
i'm proud, of course, of all my players and the squad because it's a fantastic reward as they work very hard all the time. it's good for the fans, the staff too, and the injured players who have participated for this possibility.
southampton manager
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