Robbie Fowler
Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images
Robbie Fowler has revealed the only Liverpool player that ‘showed up’ at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.
Perhaps most concerning for Liverpool fans was the complete disappearance of their star players in a major final.
Mohamed Salah had a particularly troubling outing. The Egyptian forward failed to register a single shot or create a chance throughout the entire match – a telling statistic that underscores how ineffective he was on the day
The match highlighted several tactical issues that Slot and his coaching staff failed to address. One glaring example was the mismatch that led to Newcastle’s opening goal. Liverpool inexplicably assigned the relatively diminutive Alexis Mac Allister to mark the towering Dan Burn for a corner, resulting in Burn powering home a header to give Newcastle the lead just before halftime.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle side had clearly done their homework.
Liverpool’s flat performance may have been influenced by their Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the week. Newcastle assistant Jason Tindall admitted after the match that this likely worked in his team’s favor.
And speaking to Beanyman Sports, Robbie Fowler revealed that he feels Virgil van Dijk was the only Liverpool player he feels showed up at Wembley on Sunday:
“I thought Virgil was probably the brighter player for Liverpool. Look, it’s a major final and every player didn’t show up other than Virgil and that’s the disappointing thing,” he said.
“You can be really despondent about losing games, of course losing finals. But the fact is that you were never really in the game sort of makes it a little easier to accept defeat, if that makes sense.”
Fowler also explained that one could see from the start that the Magpies were the team in the driving seat:
“You knew from an early part of the game that Newcastle were by far a better team. I don’t fall into the category of saying they wanted it more because I think we’re doing the players an incredible disservice because we’re talking about professional players who want it.”
“But for whatever reason, whether it’s been the culmination of playing lots of games in so many days, that might have caused mental or physical tiredness… that could have played a part.”
“I don’t think anyone watching the game would have any complaints if you were a Liverpool fan, because you put your hand up and say’ there was a game to be won but Newcastle were by far the better team’. If we’re being honest, 2-1 flattered Liverpool,” he concluded.
For now, Slot must focus on rallying his troops for the Premier League run-in.
This Carabao Cup final showing, where virtually no Liverpool player performed to their capability, serves as a stark reminder that even the most talented teams can falter when complacency sets in and preparation falls short.
What was meant to be a glorious day at Wembley instead became a sobering reality check for a Liverpool side that, on this occasion at least, simply failed to show up when it mattered most.
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