Southampton vs. Liverpool: Winners and Losers from Capital One Cup

Liverpool cruised through to the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup in emphatic style after a 6-1 win away at Southampton on Wednesday night.

A crazy first half started as it meant to go on, with Ryan Bertrand crossing just 40 seconds into the game for Sadio Mane to plant a header into the net and put Saints ahead. Liverpool took 10 minutes to get started themselves, but two exceptional passes—from Joe Allen and Emre Can—saw Daniel Sturridge twice beat Southampton's back line to turn the game around in quick order.

Right on half-time, Alberto Moreno fizzed in a shot that was touched in by Divock Origi to give Liverpool a 3-1 lead at the break.

Saints came out after the break with more intent, but Liverpool were clinical on the counter, and further strikes came from Origi and substitute Jordon Ibe to finish the job before the Belgium international headed his hat-trick goal late on.

Here are all our winners and losers from the match.

Winner: Daniel Sturridge

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It was never in doubt, was it? After Liverpool's false start to the match, Sturridge came up with two exceptional finishes to swing the fate of the tie his team's way in the 59 minutes he was on the field.

The England forward was deadly despite not being anywhere near his best fitness level, showing good sharpness inside the box to turn defenders, lose his marker and of course finish with aplomb.

Only keeping fit has stopped Sturridge from playing a big part for Liverpool over the past couple of seasons, and Jurgen Klopp, as well as the team's fans, will be hoping he can now maintain his physical level over a much longer period of time.

Loser: Maarten Stekelenburg

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Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg had a poor game, not just for conceding the six goals, but also the manner of those strikes.

Ibe's goal and Origi's second he could perhaps do nothing about, but both of Sturridge's were close enough to the stopper that he might have done better with them with sharper reflexes—and that certainly goes for Origi's first even though he only got a slight touch on Moreno's initial shot.

Stekelenburg faced seven shots on target, and six ended in the net. He wasn't dominant with crosses, he didn't give an air of authority in his box, and he certainly didn't stop much that came his way.

Winner: Joe Allen

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Not the man who will get the most headlines, but Joe Allen once again put in a top shift for Liverpool in the middle third of the pitch.

Allen won the ball back with aggression and tenacity, distributed play well and produced two tremendous cross-field passes, one of which led to Sturridge's equalising goal.

He did well in the left channel in the Reds' diamond midfield, covered plenty of ground and was one of those who ensured that the away team's fight and quality shone through despite the early setback.

Loser: Virgil van Dijk and Steven Caulker

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Stekelenburg might have been poor, but he had nothing on those in front of him. Centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Steven Caulker were a pure shambles, both of them missing key interventions and making poor decisions that led directly to goals.

Caulker showed Sturridge onto his favoured left foot for the equaliser and failed to step up to play the striker offside for the second, while Van Dijk's timing and anticipation for Ibe's goal was way off. Origi also gave the Dutch defender a torrid time down the channels in the second half.

All in all, a bad night's work for the Saints defence.

Winner: Divock Origi

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Belgian forward Divock Origi hadn't scored a competitive goal for Liverpool before Wednesday but ended the game with the match ball, as he netted goals three, four and six for the Reds.

His first was a minor touch on Alberto Moreno's fizzing drive, but his second was an emphatic drilled effort into the roof of the net.

A good run and header sealed his treble, and the increase in confidence was visible in the second half, as Origi was more involved and looked to bring his flicks and good touches to the game.

Speaking after the match live to Sky Sports, Origi said:

"

Very special for us, now we qualify for the half (semi) final. The team performance was very strong, for me coming here as a young boy is never easy but I showed my qualities and I'm very happy.

I scored a hat-trick last year but I'm glad today that the coach gave me the confidence and I could reward him with a hat-trick. 

Not the best start but we showed great mentality as a team, pressed high and we have great quality.

"

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