Digging Deeper Into Liverpool's Disappointing EFL Cup Loss
Yesterday at 04:30 PM
With a poor performance in the books that saw the Reds lose out on a trophy, we take a look at what it means for Arne Slot's Reds.
Just days after a heartbreaking loss in penalties to PSG to be knocked out of the Champions League, Liverpool had a chance to refocus and win their first trophy under Arne Slot. The Dutch manager surprisingly rolled out much of the same lineup that played the extra time match in mid-week, with several of the players having been seeing a maximum amount of minutes recently. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool looked off the pace and not fully recovered physically or mentally. Newcastle came out aggressively, and the Reds came out second best on almost every challenge. Two goals on either side of the half sunk Liverpool, with a late consolation from Frederico Chiesa one of the few positives to take away from the match.
Below, we take a look at some winners and losers on the night, and attempt to disentangle narrative from fact.
Winners
Virgil van Dijk
The score line was harsh on the Liverpool captain. Van Dijk was seemingly everywhere in defense as the Reds were completely overrun in midfield. Even late in the match, with van Dijk posting up with the front line in an attempt to win headers and knock the ball down for teammates in a desperate attempt to find a goal, the defender still found the extra gear to race back with a recovery run to break up what looked like a 3v1 situation.
Ibrahima Konaté
The French defender was fit enough for 55 minutes, and he showed well for his time on the pitch. He covered large swathes of the pitch and tidied up several times after turnovers by Jarrel Quansah or midfielders.
Frederico Chiesa
The diminutive Italian was thrown on as a last gasp with the Reds chasing the game. He came through with only his second goal for the club, sliding the ball home after timing his run through the middle perfectly to receive a nicely threaded pass by Harvey Elliott.
Losers
Diogo Jota
The forward struggled to have any impact on the match. With Newcastle playing an aggressive high line, Jota offered very little with his runs and struggled to get on the end of any ball that did come his way. He had one of the few clean looks at goal at the end of the first half. It was not an easy chance, but he still managed to completely fluff it, mishitting the ball well off frame.
Andy Robertson
The left back quietly had a pretty terrible match. He was beaten for the header that set up the second goal, and was run past on several occasions. Robbo was also pretty poor with his deliveries on the day, overcooking crosses in promising positions. Effort is never a question for the Scot, but it just wasn't happening for him today.
Jarrel Quansah
The lanky defender was pressed into a starting role at right back and struggled on both ends of the pitch. He was pulled out of position frequently and was slow with is decision making on the ball, getting caught out a couple of times. His deliveries left much to be desired as well.
Midfield
The Reds were completely overrun in the middle of the pitch as all the starting midfield trio looked leggy and off the pace. The spacing between the midfield and the attacking band was way too wide, allowing Newcastle to win seemingly every ball played forward to the attackers to battle for.
Dissecting The Narrative
The big question heading into the match was would Liverpool be able to recover mentally and physically after a grueling 120 minutes and penalties with PSG that saw the Reds knocked out of the Champions League. Arne Slot has not rotated as frequently as many would have expected with such a packed schedule, sometimes due to injury but frequently seemingly due to preference, and several players have begun to really look leggy.
Arne Slot rolled out essentially the exact same starting lineup with the exception of Caoimhín Kelleher in net and Jarell Quansah required at right back for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool looked off the pace from the start, with many players coming out second best time after time as Newcastle aggressively worked to win the ball. The Reds failed to make any real inroads on the match in the first half, not getting their first shot of the match until the very end of the half.
After performing so well across three competitions this season, Liverpool have dropped out of the Champions League and lost out on the EFL Cup in the span of a few days. The Reds still have a commanding 12 point lead in the Premier League table, but hopefully Slot can get some player rested up and re-focused for the run in.
What Happens Next
Liverpool players will disperse for an international break. The Reds will have a couple of weeks before they are back in action with only the Premier League left to play for. Liverpool will need to regroup mentally as their next match is a Merseyside derby, hosting Everton on April 2nd.
