Three things we learnt from Southampton’s heroic EFL Cup victory over Liverpool

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Southampton’s defence is remarkable

This isn’t new information, but it was underlined yesterday evening. Claude Puel hasn’t received enough credit for making Southampton difficult to break down. Many had attributed their defensive record to the excellence of Virgil van Dijk, but the Dutchman was absent and the Saints still managed to keep a clean sheet. This shows that it is the system and organisation coached by Puel that is responsible for their strength at the back. The clean sheet meant that Southampton managed to reach the final without conceding a single goal, despite matches at the Emirates Stadium and Anfield.

Southampton are a great example to other Premier League clubs as they continue to achieve success, even though they lose their best players on a yearly basis. It was almost symbolic that they managed to reach their first major final since 2003 at the ground of the club that continually harvests Southampton’s best players. It is often talked about that Southampton’s business model isn’t sustainable, but they continually prove that it can be and tonight did just that.