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Arne Slot reacts on the touchline during the English League Cup final football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium, north-west London on March 16, 2025(Image: HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Arne Slot admits Liverpool allowed themselves to be dictated by Newcastle United’s strengths during a dismal League Cup final defeat.

And the Reds boss suggested his players had been affected by their Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.

Goals either side of half-time from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak rendered substitute Federico Chiesa’s injury-time strike mere consolation as the Reds slumped to a 2-1 reverse at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.



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Liverpool were second best for huge swathes of the game and struggled to cope with the physicality of Newcastle.

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And while Slot dismissed suggestions the Magpies – who won their first domestic trophy in 70 years – wanted the victory more than his players, he accepted his team were overpowered.

“It was a game that went the way they wanted it to go,” said the Reds boss.

Newcastle deserved to win as the game went in the way they wanted it to go.

“It wasn’t like we were only running after them, we had to defend a lot of long balls and second balls and that’s their strength.

“I don’t think there was more hunger from them.

They are stronger in that part of football than us and that’s why they beat us."

Liverpool went in the game on the back of Tuesday’s dramatic Champions League loss to PSG, when the Reds tumbled out on penalties after an energy-sapping 120 minutes.

And asked about the impact of that game, Slot said: “Were we on Tuesday mentally or physically tired?

But this game (against Newcastle) had nothing to do with running.

“This game had only to do with duels and there was no intensity in terms of running at all.

If you look at the result and performance you might feel it (the PSG loss) maybe did something to us.”

Slot added: “I prefer to look at how the game went, and this game went exactly the way they wanted it to be, a fight with a lot of duels and a lot of duels in the air.

“If we played 10 times against them a game of football in the air, they win it probably nine times as they are a stronger team in the air, which led to the first goal and the second goal as they won a header at the second post and it fell for Isak.”


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