Good time for Liverpool to find their form

The manager felt his team were unlucky to have conceded a 62nd minute penalty against Liverpool – scored by James Milner – and struck a defiant note when asked if they could be dragged into the relegation dogfight.

Victory took the Reds to within four points of a Champions League spot and six behind leaders Manchester City, whom they beat last weekend. “That’s the biggest fault you can make – to think about the next round and who we can get”.

Should Liverpool negotiate their way through a tricky away tie against Southampton at St Mary’s on Wednesday night – they will reach the semi-finals for a 15th time, and find themselves only two games away from another showpiece Wembley final – what would be their first since May 2012.

Ronald Koeman has ordered Southampton fans to respect homecoming Liverpool aces Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren.

“From minute one we were excellent, from start to finish we limited a good Liverpool side to virtually nothing, we were never in danger”, he said.

“It was good – it was good in many parts of the game”, said Jurgen Klopp following the final whistle. It’s hard to have a good defensive organisation.

Southampton, meanwhile, continue to impress – even if they have lost back-to-back Premier League games. “They are two very important players for us and they’re back in the race”.

The result moved the Reds up to sixth in the Premier League, four points off the top four and six points of the summit, but it also saw the side have two key players return to their ranks with captain Jordan Henderson and forward Daniel Sturridge coming off the bench in the second half.

“Tonight, we are deserved winners and there’s no doubt about it – that’s the only thing we should care about. The league table always looks so much different at the beginning to mid-January than what it does at the start of December”, Milner said.

“I’m absolutely satisfied with goalkeeper situation, sorry to kill your stories about German goalkeepers, Stoke or wherever”, he told a press conference yesterday.

“Simon Mignolet – I have had a lot of goalkeepers in the last few years and he is one of the smartest I’ve ever had”.

“He is completely open and he’s young enough to develop, to improve”.