The international break clearly can’t come soon enough for Liverpool, who suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final – just five days after being dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
The hope was that Arne Slot’s side would be able to quickly put their painful European elimination behind them by winning at Wembley on Sunday, but the Reds looked even more jaded than they had in midweek, with Mohamed Salah once again going missing in action.
The Egyptian had zero impact on the game and Newcastle were full value for their victory, even if they were made to sweat in the final minutes after Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back for Liverpool. In the end, though, Dan Burn’s towering first-half header and a neat finish from Alexander Isak deservedly proved sufficient to end the Magpies’ agonising trophy drought.
Below, GOAL rates all of the Reds on show as the runaway Premier League leaders were outfought and out-thought by an inspired Newcastle side…