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Steven Davis hurting but proud after Southampton's EFL Cup final defeat

Southampton's Steven Davis after the EFL Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London.
Image: Southampton's Steven Davis after the EFL Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London

Steven Davis says he finds no consolation from Southampton's performance after being beaten by Manchester United in the EFL Cup final.

Claude Puel's side were the better side for much of an enthralling final, which was settled by a late Zlatan Ibrahimovic header as United recorded a 3-2 win.

The south-coast side fought from two goals down having had an early Manolo Gabbiadini strike ruled out for offside, with the Italian forward scoring either side of half-time to cancel out an Ibrahimovic free-kick and a Jesse Lingard effort.

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The outsiders then dominated large swathes of play only to fall to Ibrahimovic's 87th-minute heroics.

While plenty outside of St Mary's have been quick to praise the performance of Southampton, Davis admitted after the game it counts for very little.

Asked about being the better team in the final, the Northern Ireland midfielder said: "It's not consolation at the minute to be honest.

"But if we play like that between now and the end of the season we'll certainly win more games. Everyone's feeling down.

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Wayne Rooney lifts the EFL Cup at Wembley Stadium
Image: Wayne Rooney lifts the EFL Cup at Wembley Stadium

"We can feel proud of the spirit and character we've shown, especially after going 2-0 down. When we got ourselves back in the game, we thought we might go on and win in it.

"We showed great character to get back in the game, but luck wasn't on our side today - the disallowed goal that would have put us in front and then the second half we hit the post and David De Gea had a couple of good saves.

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Claude Puel was proud of his players performance despite losing 3-2 to Manchester United in the EFL Cup final and felt his team deserved more from the game

"Some decision you get and some you don't, but in a major final you want those decisions to go for you, especially when you're playing against a team like Manchester United."

Davis, who captained Saints in their attempt to win a first major honour since 1976 - when they beat United in the FA Cup final - said it was United's clinical edge in front of goal that ultimately proved the difference on the day.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his winner at Wembley
Image: Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates his winner at Wembley

"Even when we went behind we thought we were relatively comfortable," he said.

"They took the two chances they got and that's the quality they have in their side. When you get it 2-2 you really start to believe you can win this.

"United were clinical and that's hard. It will take a couple of days to mull it over. It was obviously a quiet dressing room as you'd expect - it's a difficult one to take because we deserved a lot more. You can't really enjoy a final unless you win it."

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