Karius: With Anfield behind us, we're still confident we can progress
Liverpool's EFL Cup ambitions are far from over despite losing 1-0 in the first leg of the semi-final to Southampton on Wednesday night, Loris Karius insisted as he highlighted the impact Anfield can make in the quest to reach Wembley.
The Reds were defeated at St Mary’s as Nathan Redmond’s early effort settled the game on an evening when Jürgen Klopp’s side struggled to show the attacking verve they’ve become renowned for this season.
Nevertheless, with the second leg to be contested at Anfield in two weeks’ time, Karius feels Liverpool can still be confident in their hopes of making it to the final with home support firmly behind them.
The goalkeeper told Liverpoolfc.com: “We didn’t create that many chances. In the last game in the league against them, it ended 0-0 but we had a lot more clear chances that we missed.
“This time we didn’t really get through – they defended really well and had some counter-attacks that really hurt us. 1-0 is not the result we were aiming for, but there’s still everything in it for the second leg.
“As I said, it’s not the ideal result, but we’re still confident we can turn it around. With our fans, we will make it as difficult as we can for them. If we could score an early goal, that would be good. We’ll see how the game goes, but it’s going to be really tough for them.”
LFCTV GO: Karius reacts to Saints defeat
Liverpool had started brightly on the south coast, with Roberto Firmino’s stinging half-volley bringing a save out of Fraser Forster early on.
However, afterwards Klopp expressed disappointment at the manner in which the Reds responded to conceding Redmond’s goal on the 20-minute mark.
“He said after the first goal we should have shown a different reaction because it’s a cup game and one goal is really nothing,” said Karius.
“After the first goal is when they really came at us, and [he said] we should have been stronger and more positive.”
Despite the result, Karius enjoyed a positive night’s work on a personal level, producing a string of fine saves to thwart the Saints and prevent them from taking a bigger advantage into the second leg.
The German said: “I wish I could have kept the other one out as well when they scored! I tried to be there when the team needed me, but of course all in all we’re really disappointed.
“We came here to win the first game, but now [the result] makes life a little more difficult. We’re still confident we can turn it around.”
LFCTV GO: Karius' two superb saves against the Saints