February 19 marked another weekend.
There were no league fixtures that weekend, but the EFL Cup and FA Cup were still underway.
Liverpool traveled to Southampton for the fifth round of the FA Cup, the round of sixteen.
For this match, several key players, including Chen Anno, Salah, Rodri, and Van Dijk, were all left on the bench.
Klopp's intentions were clear: the weekend cup fixture was a chance to give his first-choice players a proper rest.
Southampton fought fiercely on home turf.
They wanted to topple Liverpool in the cup and shatter their aura of invincibility.
But even with a half-strength lineup, Liverpool were no easy prey.
After ninety minutes of battle, Liverpool comfortably beat their opponents 3-1 through goals from Perisic, Chamberlain, and Firmino.
Chen Anno did not play a single minute.
That evening, the draw for the FA Cup quarterfinals was announced.
Liverpool's luck was unbelievable. They had drawn Wigan Athletic, the only EFL Championship side among the final eight.
Wigan Athletic were an EFL Championship team.
They were the weakest side left in the quarterfinals.
To draw opponents like them, Liverpool's luck really could not have been better.
Some fans even joked that Liverpool had been handed a free ride into the semifinals.
As soon as the draw was announced, every media outlet declared that Liverpool had already booked their semifinal spot.
That left the other quarterfinalists green with envy.
Manchester United fans, in particular, even took to the internet to claim that Liverpool had bribed the Football Association.
"Isn't Liverpool's luck in these draws a little too good?"
"Wigan Athletic? Isn't that basically a free semifinal spot?"
"The Football Association is blatantly trying to boost Liverpool!"
But whatever people said online, none of it could stop Liverpool's march forward.
Midweek, on February 24, Liverpool welcomed