Arne Slot manager / head coach of Liverpool
Arne Slot couldn't stop Newcastle's momentum in the second half
Arne Slot’s substitutions undermined Liverpool’s attempts to get back into the Carabao Cup final, according to Gary Neville.
Liverpool were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle at Wembley on Sunday evening as Eddie Howe’s side won the club’s first major domestic trophy in 70 years. Dan Burn powered in a header from a corner to put them 1-0 up at half-time before Alexander Isak steered in a half-volley to double their lead.
Slot went for broke, throwing on five substitutes in the second half to try and generate a spark for his side, who had been second best throughout. But although Federico Chiesa found the bottom corner from Harvey Elliott’s defence-splitting pass in added time, it wasn’t enough for Liverpool, whose Wembley defeat came days after they were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
Neville was on co-commentary for Sky Sports and was not impressed by Slot’s decision making. The Dutchman put on Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez for Ibrahima Konate and Diogo Jota in the 57th minute, as he switched from a four-man defence to three at the back, before gambling even more by bringing on Cody Gakpo for Alexis Mac Allister minutes later.
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The tactical switch gave Newcastle lots of space to break into on the counter-attack – and in truth it could have been 3-0. “If anything, Liverpool are getting worse,” Neville lamented after the introductions of Jones, Nunez and Gakpo. “The substitutes haven't helped them. The midfield is scattered. There are gaps everywhere.”
Later on, Neville accused Slot of “throwing shape out of the window” in search of a route back into the match. Elliott and Chiesa were introduced for Ryan Gravenberch and Luis Diaz in the 74th minute and the two combined to give Liverpool fleeting late hope after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
But a long ball from Jarell Quansah into the arms of Nick Pope prompted another negative comment from former Manchester United defender Neville. “That sums Liverpool up,” he said. “They haven’t had anything as an attacking threat. What’s happened to them? We know they went out of Europe in midweek. They really have been way off it.”
Mohamed Salah looks dejected
Liverpool were left dejected after the defeat at Wembley ( Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
The final whistle was followed by jubilant scenes from the black and white half of Wembley, with the players dropping to their knees before rising to celebrate with the fans. The TV cameras panned to the stands to show club legend Alan Shearer jumping around, while Ant and Dec celebrated with their family and friends.
Neville was clearly happy with the outcome too, having not tried to hide his enjoyment at Isak’s telling goal in the second half with his now-trademark “ooooh”. The former defender also talked about Monday being made a “Geordie bank holiday” and bar owners on Tyneside staying open late on Sunday.
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