Why Andy Robertson was absent for Liverpool as Virgil van Dijk half-time substitution explained

Liverpool kept up their ambitions of claiming four trophies as they beat Southampton 3-0 to move into the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Jurgen Klopp had to call on the kids once again and they did not let him down. After helping the Reds claim Carabao Cup final glory against Chelsea at Wembley, they played a prominent role in the Southampton triumph. Lewis Koumas bagged on his debut while 18-year-old Jayden Danns came off the bench to fire a double at Anfield.

Liverpool's options were depleted again, with Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai still not given the green light to feature because of injury. Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch was stretchered off against Chelsea after suffering ankle ligament damage, while Wataru Endo also was absent for the Saints win because of an ankle knock.

Such was the Reds' lengthy injury list, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones and Alisson Becker also absent - along with long-term casualties Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak - it may have gone unnoticed to some that Andy Robertson was not part of the match-day squad.

The left-back returned from a shoulder injury last month and featured for 86 minutes at Wembley. However, Robertson suffered illness in the build-up to the Southampton game and could not be involved. Alexis Mac Allister was also sick but made the bench and came on in the second half.

KLopp said ahead of the game: "We just try to recover. There was nothing, no big celebration. You saw it in the stadium. It was what we had. The dressing room probably people could see as well. That was it. Since then we try to recover and find a team for tonight. That's what we did.

"We had a couple of problems added on. Ryan was clear. Endo cannot play. Robbo got ill. Macca was ill and he came back this morning. We'll see how long he can do."

Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk was substituted at half-time against his former club Saints. The centre-back was Liverpool's hero against Chelsea, with his header in the 28th minute of extra-time ensuring he won his first trophy since being appointed Anfield captain.

Van Dijk was one of five players who kept their starting berth from Wembley. It became apparent that he would come off at the interval in the Southampton win, though, as Ibrahima Konate was stripped down and went through an extensive warm-up.

Given van Dijk's exertions, the substitution appeared very much pre-planned and there was no shock nor worry the Dutchman had been taken off.