Play the right players in the right team and you get the right result ! That was the story of the first leg of the League Cup semi final at St Mary's.
It was a result that both managers would probably have been happy about, Saints have an advantage to take up to Anfield in a fortnight and Jurgen Klopp will feel his side can overturn it, but for Saints fans the important thing was that we not only got a result but the manager proved that he knows what he is doing.
As I said in the preview it was all about naming the strongest side and perversely the absence of Jose Fonte seemed to gel the team spirit and motivate the players to put in perhaps their best performance of the season.
But for the first 20 minutes of the game it looked like Liverpool would run riot and Saints needed to keep their nerve, keep their concentration and make sure that they didn't give anything away and this they did.
Having done that they could start to impose themselves on the game and this they did on 20 minutes when Nathan Redmond put them ahead.
But it was still no simple task, Liverpool as in the League game dominated possession and looked for an opening and Saints had to work and work to make sure they did not create any clear openings.
In the main that is what happened and as the game progressed the visitors looked more frustrated and stopped working openings and tried pot shots from a distance.
Saints though will feel that they should have had more the visitors keeper made a couple of decent saves and if Saints had forced a second goal the tie would be very much in our favour.
This was a night when it was hard to pick a man of the match, it was a team dislay and you could pick and man in isolation and point out an excellent perforance, Nathan Redmond silenced his doubters with perhaps his best display, Jay Rodriguez worked his socks off, in the defence both full backs were superb, VVD was on top of his game and Yoshida dug in and deserves a special mention.
The midfield trio were superb and when they were spent, Hojberg and JWP came on and closed out the game.
But the mot pleasing thing is that the manager showed he knows his best team and hopefull he will have learn't a lesson as well last night and that is you need to keep the foundations of your team intact when you rotate.
But as they say it is only half time in the tie and Saints face a tough task up on Merseyside in a fortnight, but you feel that if they put in another display like last night that they can complete the job and get to Wembley.
A big step for Saints last night not only in the League cup but hopefully in their season and we can use this display to kick on.