The Liverpool Manager Arne Slot accused the inability to push Newcastle United because of her direct style because of her close defeat in the Carabao Cup.
The Reds were beaten against Paris Saint-Germain in Wembley just a few days after leaving the Champions League. But while Slot claimed that Liverpool and PSG were evenly over 180 minutes before the extension and punishment in this last 16 draw, he could not say the same thing after looking at Newcastle.
“Disappointing result, disappointing performance. Unlike I felt after Saint-Germain’s game in Paris,” considered the Liverpool boss.
Slot admitted that Liverpool had failed at duel, and also claimed that the way Newcastle played made it impossible to know whether his team was still exposed to PSG.
“This game only had to do with playing duels, and there was no intensity about running in this game. So you can’t even judge it if we were physically tired because we couldn’t press it,” said the Dutch.
“You can judge a team if you are tired when you press, but there was nothing to press because you played through our press. The game was slow and not intense [Newcastle] wanted it to … a fight with many duels and many duels through the air.
“If we played a football game through the air ten times against you, you will probably win it nine times because you are a stronger team through the air than we are, which led to the first goal and the second goal. You are stronger than us in this part of football and therefore you beat us.”
Slot denied the proposal that Newcastle players were “hungry” to win as a Liverpool because the end of the decades of trophy agency “for fans”.
He said: “Players have 15 years to play football and they want to win every single trophy that they compete for. We want that too.
“I don’t think there was more hungry for them; the game ran the way they wanted it and they are stronger than us in this part of football and therefore they beat us.”