Arne Slott insists Liverpool must defend their Carabao Cup crown after securing a place in the last four with a 2-1 win over Southampton at St Mary’s.

Despite a much-changed team, Slott’s side triumphed thanks to first-half strikes from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott on a drizzly evening on the south coast.

Cameron Archer halved the deficit on the hour mark for Southampton, led by interim boss Simon Rusk after Russell Martin’s dismissal on Sunday, with a spirited second-half performance.

But it was the holders, and current leaders of the Premier League, who progressed with the slot highlighting the importance of retaining the trophy after the match.

“We have to defend the trophy because the club won it last season,” Slott told Sky Sports.

“I wasn’t involved but the players were and Jurgen (Klopp) and his staff, of course.

“We want to participate in every cup so we are happy that we have reached the semi-finals. It’s always a tough competition but this time it definitely is.”

“We have to defend the trophy” 🏆

Arne Slott shares his thoughts as Liverpool advance to Carabao Cup semi-finals 💭 pic.twitter.com/1GMEHTeL0X

– Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 18, 2024

Slott, who was handed a touchline ban after receiving his third yellow card of the season in the 2-2 draw with Fulham, watched the game from high up in the stands.

And the Liverpool boss was largely pleased with his team’s performance but admitted his standards had slipped at times.

“The first half was really good,” Slott said. “Good performance, we played really well.

“But it wasn’t a complete surprise to concede the goal because I think before that we started to get a bit disorganized. We lost one or two easy balls.

The Reds are back in league action on Sunday, when they travel to Tottenham, who will take on Manchester United in the last of the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie on Thursday evening.