· March 12 2025, 10:30
**Paris Saint-Germain took Liverpool all the way to penalties at Anfield last night just as many Newcastle United fans will have hoped.**
An extra half an hour of football may not be too big of an issue in the grand scheme of things, but Newcastle get an extra day of recovery thanks to playing on Monday night, and playing through extra time and perhaps even the psychological damage of being dumped out of another cup competition may be enough to give Newcastle more of an edge before Sunday's Carabao Cup final.
Fans were torn last night between Liverpool staying in the Champions League to give them another thing to focus on other than the Carabao Cup, or having them be knocked out to take the wind out of their sails.
It took extra time and penalties, but PSG did the business at Anfield sending Arne Slot's men out of the Champions League. I guess not everyone can beat PSG at home.
Soon!
Liverpool will be sweating on the fitness of Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Sunday
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On top of all of that, Liverpool had to withdraw both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate during the game, which will be a big worry for them ahead of Sunday.
Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley are already missing for the final and now Liverpool will be sweating on Konate and Trent.
Granted, Newcastle have a few injuries of their own, but we've had time to get used to that and Eddie Howe has had time to devise a plan. Arne Slot must now start scrambling for a new plan ahead of Sunday.
It was a good night for Newcastle United
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In all honesty, things couldn't have gone much better for Newcastle last night, except of course for what effect Liverpool's exit could have on the coefficient and whether that fifth plate spot in the Premier League will grant the occupier Champions League football.
It's a bit crass to celebrate players getting injured, we know, but come on, we'll take anything we can get to tip the scales back in our favour for Sunday.
Has anyone else's stomach started turning already?