Liverpool manager Arne Slot’s suggestion to beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the EFL Cup final is the product of fatigue.
The Reds are the favorites who can claim their first trophy under Slot, and he has been overseeing the first season since Jurgen Klopp took over, with Liverpool taking a 12-point victory in the Premier League.
But they were pulled back by Newcastle’s excellent performance, who led 2-0 on goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak while Federico Chiesa returned a shot before shutdown time.
Liverpool’s performance was poor, and a shocking second leg ended up in fines after they put the first leg on PSG in their last 16 tie, Gianluigi Donnarumma glittering and getting the Ligue 1 leader through.
Liverpool looked disappointed at Wembley, but the slot machine would not take fatigue as a factor, but instead pointed out Newcastle’s direct approach was that manager Eddie Howe admitted he had been close to his chest when the two sides met at Anfield last month as the main reason for his team’s death.
When asked if his team was tired, Slot told reporters: “It’s always hard to judge mentally.”
“Are we tired mentally or physically on Tuesday? No, but this game has nothing to do with running, this game is only about duels.
“And there is no intensity for running in this game, and if we are physically tired, yes or no, we can’t even judge it because we can’t press them.
“You can judge a team if they’re tired, but there’s nothing to press down because they’re playing in our media.
“If they have a goal kick or a free kick, every time they take it to our last row, it will result in a lot of fixed pieces.
“So the game is slow and not intense, so if we are ready, it is difficult for me to judge. Psychologically, it is a difficult person.
“If you look at the results and performance, you may feel it [the PSG game] Something was done to us, but I prefer to watch the game develop, and this game is exactly what they want.
“The battles with a lot of duels, and a lot of duels in the air, if we played 10 football matches through the air, they probably won 9 times because they were stronger in the air than we were.”
Liverpool will have time to overcome this week’s disappointment, with international breaks giving them a chance to reorganize with Everton ahead of the Merseyside derby on April 2.
Regarding whether his team came in a pleasant moment, Slot said: “We are one of the largest clubs in the world, Liverpool. But this is not the first time in their history, or they have lost two consecutive games in the past two seasons.
“It’s part of playing football, especially when one is the best team you currently face in Europe and the other faces Newcastle, which is a very strong team in England.
“I hope to play next week. But now the situation is that they go to the national team, where they have two more games. Then we face Everton for about a week and a half, and that’s the team we’ve already faced. We know how difficult that is. Let’s take a look.”
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