Arne Slot defends baffling Liverpool tactic during Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle

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Arne Slot defended Liverpool’s corner set-up despite seeing Dan Burn take advantage of a huge mismatch to head Newcastle ahead en route to victory in the Carabao Cup final.

Liverpool turned in an uncharacteristically poor showing at Wembley on Sunday as the defending champions fell to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle.

Local hero Burn headed Eddie Howe’s side ahead on the brink of half-time before Alexander Isak’s strike after the break secured victory for the Magpies despite Federico Chiesa’s late goal.

Newcastle produced an all-action display for the full 90 minutes, running Liverpool ragged and overpowering them all across the pitch.

And that physical advantage was illustrated best with their opener as Burn rose above Alexis Mac Allister to power home a thumping header into the bottom corner.

The decision to have the diminutive Argentinian midfielder marking the 6ft 6in defender raised eyebrows in the Sky Sports studio at half-time.

‘It isn’t right. Its a mismatch. Dan Burn is too big and too powerful for Alexis Mac Allister,’ former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said.

‘Liverpool could look at the fact that Newcastle keeps targeting Dan Burn and maybe swap Jota and Mac Allister. He is far better in the air. Burn has won every header. Mac Allister isn’t even watching the ball. What that is about I don’t know.’

Burn, himself, even said he had noticed an opportunity up against Mac Allister prior to his goalscoring header.

‘I knew Alexis [Mac Allister] wasn’t looking at the ball and I’d be able to get a jump on him. I don’t get many so I saved it for a big occasion,’ the England defender told Sky Sports.

Slot, however, sought to defend his team’s zonal set-up, and said there was nothing they could have done to prevent a ‘one in 100’ header from the Newcastle defender.

‘We play zonal. We always have five players zonally close to our goal,’ the Liverpool boss said post-match.

‘So, if the ball falls there, there is always one of the stronger five players to attack that ball. We have three players that man mark and Macca is one of them.

‘Normally a player like Burn runs to the zone because normally, and I think he is an exception.

‘I have never in my life seen a player from that far away heading a ball with so much force into the far corner.’

Slot continued: ‘The logic is that they either have to go far away from our six-yard box which 99 out of 100 times won’t lead to a goal or they have to arrive in our zone and then it’s an equal battle.

‘But credit to him, I think he’s one of few players who can score a goal from that distance with his head.’

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