Final Thoughts on Liverpool’s Carabao Cup Final Defeat to Newcastle United | OneFootball

Liverpool 1 – 2 Newcastle – EFL Cup Final, The Postmortem

The atmosphere in Wembley was loud and expectant as two sets of adoring fans awaited their respective teams to enter the fray and fight for the first English trophy of the season. Unfortunately for Arne Slot and his ailing men in red, they were unable to produce the required impact on this game, whereas Eddie Howe’s soldiers marched through this encounter like a team possessed and thoroughly deserved their silverware lift at the close of the game.

Below is how the team lined up, with match details following.

The Starting Eleven

GK – Caoimhin Kelleher

RB – Jarell Quansah

RCB – Ibrahima Konaté

LCB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Andy Robertson

CM – Alexis Mac Allister

ACM – Dominik Szoboszlai

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

RF – Mohamed Salah

CF – Diogo Jota

LF – Luis Díaz

Subs

Darwin Núñez – Diogo Jota (56 mins)

Curtis Jones – Ibrahima Konaté (56 mins)

Cody Gakpo – Alexis Mac Allister (101 mins)

Harvey Elliott – Luis Díaz (74 mins)

Federico Chiesa – Ryan Gravenberch (74 mins)

Goals (Assisted by)

Liverpool 0 – 1 Newcastle

Dan Burn (Kieron Tripper) 45+1 mins

Liverpool 1 – 2 Newcastle

Alexander Isak (Jacob Murphy) 53 mins

Liverpool 1 – 2 Newcastle

Federico Chiesa (Harvey Elliott) 90+6 mins

Important Match Stats

Possession

Liverpool 66% – 34% Newcastle

XG

Liverpool 0.89 – 1.74 Newcastle

Total Shots

Liverpool 7 – 17 Newcastle

Corner Kicks

Liverpool 4 – 9 Newcastle

Off Sides

Liverpool 2 – 2 Newcastle

Fouls

Liverpool 14 – 10 Newcastle

Goalkeeper Saves

Liverpool 4 – 1 Newcastle

The First Half

Match Overview

The match began with Liverpool looking reserved and unsure, as the Geordies fought and harried to make their physical mark on the team. A tactical endeavour was laid out by Eddie Howe to quickly set about a solid base out of possession, with a want to launch forward in transition. The counter-press initiative of Newcastle was then followed by the men in black in white when they did concede possession of the ball, which became a common rhetorical feature which benefitted one team and made the other look weak. For anyone who did not see the game, it was the Merseyside giants, Liverpool, who looked painfully weak.

Sandro Tonali had a long-range effort to sneak wide as Harvey Barnes provided good width from wide. Both Joelinton and Bruno Guimarães were combative in midfield as the Liverpool middlemen struggled to match the effort of their opponents. With set pieces starting to create issues for the Reds, the Eddie Howe tactical approach against Arne Slot’s zonal marking was to place his giant defender, Dan Burn, away from Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, allowing the 6ft 6inch Geordie to tower over his marker, Alexis Mac Allister. Eventually the routine of launching the ball to the extremity of the eighteen-yard box paid off, with the former Brighton man powering a header into the far corner and beyond the reach of Caoimhin Kelleher. Diogo Jota would have an opportunity to level the game in the final moments of the half, however, his shot veered wide.

Throughout the opening 45 minutes, the Reds were unable to release their Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, who seemed isolated and out of the game on the far right. Diogo Jota was a starter once more and sadly unable to show any fight or penetration, whereas the Columbian flyer, Luis Díaz, was ineffective against his 34-year-old marker, Kieron Tripper.

The first half ended with Liverpool 0-1 behind and lucky to still be in the contest.

The Second Half

Liverpool made no changes to the team which started the game as they looked to build on a horrible first-half showing. The game did not alter in terms of the energy being portrayed by each team, which enabled the scores to briefly double, only for VAR to confirm an offside in the build-up to the close-range finish. The warning signs failed to ignite anything tangible from the reigning EFL Cup champions, as a simple deep cross and knock down at the far post landed at the feet of the Premier League’s most devastating central striker, Alexander Isak, who rifled home from twelve yards out to legitimately double his sides lead.

Curtis Jones was able to bring a wonderful one-handed save from Nick Pope, as his introduction from the bench at least sparked some life into his team. Alexander Isak was denied by a smart low save from Keller before Harvey Elliott found Federico Chiesa’s perfectly timed run to allow the Italy international to score a clinical goal. The enthusiasm of each substitute was too little too late and the match ended without any real fight from the men in deficit.

The ninety minutes concluded with Newcastle celebrating their deserved EFL Cup Final win, with Liverpool looking a tired and frustrated version of their recent selves.

Final Thoughts

Liverpool Football Club will need to look at their deficiencies, despite the impending 20th English League crown that should avail itself in the next weeks and months. The attack was blunted and ineffective, whereas the midfield looked tired and overpowered by hungry lions that were happy the prey on their adversaries. More power and aggression will have to be sourced in the summer months as the regeneration looks likely to realign itself.

Steven Smith’s Score Prediction:

Liverpool 2 – 1 Newcastle