Arne Slot believes that Newcastle's plan to exploit their aerial dominance was decisive in his side's Carabao Cup final defeat. The Liverpool manager appeared to tip his hat to counterpart Eddie Howe's tactics as the Reds failed to withstand their power in the air.
Slot explained: "The game was slow, not intense. The game went exactly the way they wanted, with a lot of duels and a lot through the air and if we play 10 games of football through the air, they win nine times... that is what led to the first goal and the second.
"We were outplayed in their style, that is true. They won more duels. It was a disappointing result, a disappointing performance, completely different to how I felt after the PSG game."
Despite suffering another significant defeat so soon after their Champions League exit, Slot remains proud of how his side have performed up until this stage, especially domestically: "I want to make it clear that the week started really well by beating Southampton, which extended our lead to 12 points.
"We are in one of the biggest clubs in the world but it is not the first time they have lost two games in a row especially if one is when you face the best team in Europe at the moment and the other is a strong Premier League team."
Slot then went on to shut down suggestions that Newcastle were victorious at Wembley because they wanted it more to Liverpool, saying: "I don't think there was more hunger from them. It is 70 years since they last won a trophy but that is for the fans.
"The players have 15 years to play football and they want to win every single trophy they play for and that is what we want."
This article originally appeared on Mirror