Arne Slot was outthought and Liverpool were outfought on Sunday afternoon, and the 2024/25 Carabao Cup does belong to Newcastle United.
This has been an extraordinary campaign for Liverpool, one which should reach its crescendo with the Premier League title in Anfield’s clutches after Jurgen Klopp called time on his legendary career in Merseyside last summer.
There can be no grievances; the Reds were comprehensively outclassed against a Magpies side that has hungered for silver for so many years, now rejoicing after ending 70 years of barren luck.
Only days on from Liverpool’s gutting Champions League exit on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool were once again out of sorts, unable to match their opponents’ intensity and confidence.
Toothless in attack and bested in crucial midfield battles, seasonal euphoria has been subdued over the past week, with much to consider heading into the summer.
Liverpool's torrid performance at Wembley
With over 15 minutes of normal time still to play, Slot threw the kitchen sink at Liverpool’s black-and-white adversaries, launching every attacking option onto the field – to no avail.
It was a desperate gambit, and one that didn’t pay off as Newcastle’s bulwark stood firm against the second-rate frontline. Liverpool’s pitiful performances in recent weeks look so incongruous across the whole story of the season. But it has mattered, glory reduced to the shape of the Premier League cup.
Overwhelmed would be apposite wording: Slot’s tried-and-tested midfield trio flattered to deceive, winning just seven of 21 combined duels in the capital. Newcastle were far sharper, latching onto second balls and wanting the trophy more; it was clear.
Federico Chiesa scored a lifting consolation in stoppage time, but it was far too little too late as Eddie Howe’s side expertly harnessed the dark arts to whittle down precious time.
Errors have punctuated Liverpool’s recent cup exits but had Liverpool avoided just one misplaced pass, you still feel United would have prevailed. It was, as The Athletic’s James Pearce so aptly put it, an “abysmal performance.”
Epitomised by the forward line’s woes.
Liverpool's frontline misfires (again)
It’s become a familiar tale over the past few weeks, Liverpool’s formidable frontline reduced to something far more ordinary against PSG and now Newcastle on momentous stages.
Nothing can detract from Liverpool’s brilliance on the Premier League front, but this will sting and indeed hang a light on the glaring problems up top.
Mohamed Salah has flattered to deceive of late, sure, but he’s carried a frontline lacking a cutting edge to the brink of a league triumph, and it has proved too much across cup fronts.
Player ratings courtesy of Sofascore
Diogo Jota in particular was non-existent at Wembley, hooked before the hour mark after missing a great chance to restore parity right after Ban Burn’s opener. That’s the tenth game on the trot that the Portugal international has failed to find the back of the net.
Mohamed Salah
43 (41)
32
22
Cody Gakpo
40 (25)
16
5
Luis Diaz
42 (32)
13
5
Diogo Jota
29 (18)
8
3
Darwin Nunez
40 (17)
7
7
Federico Chiesa
11 (3)
2
2
Luis Diaz’s tally is respectable, but when you consider only four of the Colombian’s strikes have been posted after November 5th 2024, with one goal across his past 18 matches, you begin to question whether his end product matches the gifted ability he carries.
Approaching the penultimate year of his contract, questions are indeed being asked.
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How Luis Diaz let Slot down
Diaz has had plenty to cheer about this season, bagging an almighty hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, enjoying an early Premier League flurry of strikes to get the Slot era up and running and also providing firepower from an unnatural role in the centre to help Liverpool’s lack of reliable options, to promote fluency.
But we keep coming back to his lack of bite. Here is a player with all the minerals to become world-class: startling speed, fleet feet and a tenacious appetite that arrested FSG’s attention and urged them to spend up to £49m on bringing him in from Porto in 2022 as Sadio Mane’s successor.
But Diaz will never be truly world-class, for he simply isn’t incisive enough in key moments. Since arriving at Anfield, he’s scored 37 goals from 140 appearances, also laying on 18 assists. It’s decent, but it’s not great.
His bundled-in goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in February stands lonely as his only strike in any competition since bagging in the rout over West Ham United after Christmas. Against the Magpies, he never looked like adding to his haul.
He’s surely got to be sweating over his long-term future on Merseyside. Diaz’s current deal expires in 2027, by which point he will be 30 years old. Is a renewal likely to be on the cards? If your reckoning is in the negative: should Liverpool cash in for maximum value this summer?
Chiesa’s last-gasp goal provided the Reds with something that had been lacking, instinctively darting into space after Harvey Elliott played a delightful threaded ball into space. Newcastle were carved open, and the Italian forward fired an excellent strike past Nick Pope.
Having failed to even attempt a shot on goal in the capital yesterday, the Colombia international also completed only one of his three attempted dribbles while creating one key pass for his teammates, as per Sofascore. He also won just four of his ten duels, ceded possession every five and a half minutes and failed to complete a cross.
The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle was not impressed, echoing the sentiment that Liverpool’s left flanker failed to provide any sharpness, lots of huff and puff but little tangible product. He gave him a 4/10 match score, which was a fair assessment, in truth.
So then, where are we? Liverpool look rather poor at the moment, with their sapped legs and loss of inspiration and snap costing them dearly across Champions League and Carabao Cup campaigns. Players such as Diaz and Jota are playing themselves out of a future, and FSG have plenty to chew on over the coming weeks.
But the international break is upon us, the perfect chance for recalibration. There’s a league title still to win, after all.
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