Liverpool Boss Arne Slot Remains Positive Despite 'Tough Week'

Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged a 'tough week' after the team's League Cup final defeat to Newcastle, but remains positive about their 12-point lead in the Premier League with nine games to go.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot remains defiant despite his team's miserable week, which culminated in a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup final on Sunday. Slot has shifted his focus to the team's Premier League charge, where they are strong favorites to win the title.

The loss to Newcastle comes just four days after Liverpool's Champions League exit on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain. Despite this setback, Liverpool is almost certain to be crowned league champions, with a 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with just nine matches to go. Newcastle's victory marked their first major trophy in 56 years and their first domestic silverware in 70 years, with goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak securing the win. Federico Chiesa scored a consolation goal for Liverpool in added time.

Arne Slot conceded Liverpool were deservedly beaten as a result of a disappointing performance in their 2-1 Carabao Cup final defeat by Newcastle United at Wembley.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 16, 2025

When asked how he would prevent the defeat from having a knock-on effect for the rest of the season, Slot responded, “We are here in one of the biggest clubs in the world, Liverpool, but it's not for the first time in their history or in the last two seasons that they've lost two games in a row.” Slot put the loss into perspective, saying, ”This is part of playing football, especially if one of them is when you face the best team in Europe at the moment and the other one is facing Newcastle, which is a very strong team in England.”

Defeat in the #CarabaoCupFinal. pic.twitter.com/zhvpRMtDKH

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 16, 2025

Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged that it had been a “tough week” for the team, but highlighted the positive aspect of extending their lead in the Premier League. Slot said, “I want to make clear one more time that the week started off really well by us beating Southampton. That's why we extended our lead to 12 points with nine games to go (the situation after Arsenal's 1-0 win against Chelsea on Sunday).”

Slot put the team's losses into perspective, saying, “And, yeah, you know if you go far in tournaments that the opposition in your face gets stronger and stronger and that you can lose. Even Liverpool can lose football games. That's what can happen.” He emphasized that the team's performance was not entirely negative, despite the defeats.

When asked if his team had been outplayed by Newcastle, Slot disagreed. He defined being “outplayed” as a situation where ”you don't touch the ball and they play through you every single time you try to press them and every time you're too late.” Slot acknowledged that Newcastle deserved to win, saying, “But I agree with you if you say that they deserved to win because the game went in the way they wanted it to go. So, yes, they deserved to win, but it wasn't like we were only running after them.”

Slot praised his team's defensive efforts, saying, “We had to defend a lot of long balls, second balls, and that's their strength.” He expressed his preference to play again the following week, rather than going into an international break. Slot said, “I would have loved to play next week, but now the situation is that they go to their national teams where they have to play two more games again.”

Slot acknowledged the challenge of adjusting to the break in their schedule. He said, “Then it's probably one and a half weeks before we face Everton, which is again a team we already faced and we know how difficult that one was. So let's see. I think you have to adjust.”