Divock Origi opened his Liverpool account with a hat-trick and Daniel Sturridge scored twice in a 6-1 demolition of Southampton on Wednesday in the English League Cup quarter-finals.
Sadio Mane headed Southampton in front after 39 seconds, but Sturridge marked his first start since Oct. 4 with a quick-fire brace and 20-year-old Belgium striker Origi claimed a treble as the visitors roared back, with substitute Jordon Ibe also on target.
The result continued the resurgence that has taken hold at Liverpool since the appointment of manager Juergen Klopp, whose side have lost just one of 11 games since he took over, winning seven of the past eight.
Photo: Reuters
“We do not have magic ideas,” said Klopp, whose team were drawn against Stoke City in the semi-finals, leaving open the possibility of a meeting with either Manchester City or city rivals Everton in the final. “It’s about working hard. You cannot be in Liverpool because of the weather, so it must be because of the football club.”
Southampton had been bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1986-1987, but dreams of a first major final since 2002-2003 quickly faded as they sank to their heaviest home defeat since March 1959.
“That is not the result we expect,” Southampton manager Ronald Koeman told Sky Sports. “A great start, but if you make the mistakes defensively we did in the first half and with the top quality of Liverpool, then you can lose.”
Koeman’s team were seeking a reaction to successive defeats by Manchester City and Stoke City, and they wasted no time getting started at St Mary’s.
After Dusan Tadic’s shimmying had moved young Liverpool rightback Connor Randall out of the way, Ryan Bertrand curled a cross in from the left and Mane met it with a firm header into the bottom-right corner.
With jeers ringing in the ears of former Saints Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana, it threatened to be a long night for the visitors, but in the 25th minute they leveled.
Joe Allen’s first-time pass over the top released Sturridge and although the striker’s first touch allowed Steven Caulker to get back into position, he quickly shifted the ball onto his left and drilled home.
Cue the Sturridge wiggle — last glimpsed in the 3-2 home win over Aston Villa on Sept. 26 — and four minutes later he was celebrating again.
This time Emre Can was the architect, catching the home defense square with an exquisite long-range pass using the outside of his right foot.
Haring in at the back post, Sturridge met the ball on the half-volley and steered it beneath Maarten Stekelenburg.
“It was not too bad what Daniel Sturridge did after his long break,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “I told him: ‘Now I know what everybody’s talking about,’ the first time I saw him do it live for me in the stadium.”
Southampton felt they should have been given a chance to level shortly after when Tadic’s volleyed pass struck Randall’s arm, but referee Robert Madley was unmoved.
Liverpool extended their lead on the cusp of halftime, former Lille OSC striker Origi getting the faintest of touches to Alberto Moreno’s long-range drive for his first Liverpool goal in his 11th appearance.
Southampton switched to a back three at halftime, Victor Wanyama dropping back between the centerbacks, but although they initially succeeded in keeping Liverpool at arm’s length, it did not last.
Having made a successful return after knee and foot problems, Sturridge departed just before the hour mark, with Ibe coming on.
There was no easing up as Origi lashed home from Ibe’s pass and headed in a left-wing cross from substitute Brad Smith, either side of a drilled effort from Ibe.
Additional reporting by Reuters
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB