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Jurgen Klopp was left to reflect on a near-perfect performance from his Liverpool as they booked their place in the Capital One Cup semi-finals in sensational style.

And the Reds boss revealed how a one-to-one with Divock Origi helped inspire the young striker to his first goals for the club.

Origi, making just his seventh start in a Liverpool shirt, stole the show as the Reds put Southampton to the sword at St Mary's.

The 20-year-old scored a hat-trick, with two goals from Daniel Sturridge and another from Jordon Ibe securing a 6-1 win – the club's biggest on the road since April 2013.

It sets up a two-legged tie against Stoke City in the last four, while Everton will take on Manchester City in the other semi-final.

And a smiling Klopp was able to enjoy the moment.

“It is not too often that you can enjoy a football game like this for the last 20 or 25 minutes,” he said. “It was a good one tonight!

“I am really pleased. Not with the whole game – we had some problems early on, but then we started playing the game! The second half was good, much better than the start.”

Klopp has already publicly confessed his admiration for Origi, whom he had tried to sign while manager of Borussia Dortmund.

And the Reds boss revealed he had spoken with the youngster recently in a bid to encourage him to simplify his game.

He said: “We had a talk. We sat together, and it is not too often that you agree on everything with a player!

“I told him 'you have to do this, this and this, not do the difficult things too often and so on' – and he said 'yes, yes and yes, I know, I know'.

“When he plays, and he only plays for a few minutes, he wants to show everything. That's normal. Everyone wanted him before Liverpool bought him after the World Cup in 2014, but he has to learn. He has to be patient and to work.

“Today, he made only easy passes, used his speed, defended and took his chances. His game was really good.

“He's still young though, and he has to learn.”

Origi's strike partner on the night, Sturridge, also delivered for his manager. The England man, making his first start since September, scored twice in the first half, getting a much-needed hour in the bank in terms of fitness.

“Daniel's first goal was not bad, a perfect pass from Joe Allen,” Klopp said. “I think it was a goal from the moment the ball was in the air!

“I said to him after the game 'now I know what everyone was talking about!'”

Asked if Sturridge had needed any persuasion to start the game having suffered so badly with injuries of late, Klopp said: “No, absolutely not!

“Christian Benteke was injured, and then has played two games in quick succession. We have to think now how we use him best. The same with Firmino.

“We have our own little experiences, where we know that a third game in quick succession can be a problem. If you have fresh players, you have to use them.

“That's what we did tonight. The problem with Daniel is that we didn't know how long he can play. And if you don't know how long he can play, then he has to start because you can then replace him.

“We started him, and it was a good decision I have to say! The same with Divock. It worked!”

Klopp was also asked about the draw for the semi finals, and if he was glad to have avoided high-flying City and local rivals Everton. His response, though, spoke of a man with confidence in his own side – though he did express bemusement at the two-legged nature of the tie.

“Whose idea was this to have two games in the semi final?!” he exclaimed, shaking his head. “Strange!

“I would have had no problems with a game against Everton. As you can see, we have no problem with matches against Manchester City! But we have Stoke.

“I've had a few semi finals in my life, and I have never had an easy one. Stoke will want this final for sure, as much as they can. But we have to wait until January now.”

“There will always be problems in football, but at this moment it's OK. Next stop, Newcastle!”