Topics: Liverpool, Eddie Howe, Newcastle United, Carabao Cup
After seeing how Arne Slot and his players reacted to their Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle, an emotional Eddie Howe praised Liverpool for showing "absolute class" at Wembley.
Newcastle finally ended their 70-year domestic trophy drought on Sunday afternoon as goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak sealed a historic 2-1 win.
Liverpool, on the other hand, looked fatigued throughout and were ultimately outplayed by their opponents – just days after being knocked out of the Champions League by PSG in a draining penalty shoot-out.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Arne Slot explained why it felt "completely different" to their Champions League exit.
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“Even Liverpool can lose football games," he began. "We were outplayed, in their style. Today it wasn’t about running; it was more about duels. This game went exactly the way they wanted it to, with a lot of fight and a lot of duels."
He added: "This game had no intensity, so you cannot even judge if we were tired physically. There was nothing to press because they played over our press. The game was slow.”
It was a disappointing afternoon for the Premier League leaders, but they showed "absolute class" after Sunday's full-time whistle, according to Eddie Howe, who was full of praise for how they handled the loss.
Howe knows how it feels to be on the losing side of a Carabao Cup final following their defeat to Manchester United in 2023.
"I have to compliment Liverpool," he began, as per Liverpool World. "Liverpool have been the best team in the Premier League by a mile this year and we knew we had to raise our game to have any chance.
“We needed everyone to give their maximum game and I thought they did. I have to give compliments to how Liverpool handled themselves after. We have been there two years ago - it is a horrible feeling. I thought they were absolute class - the manager, the players were really good."
Moments after the final whistle, former Liverpool left-back Stephen Warnock spotted the noble actions of Virgil van Dijk as he approached the Newcastle squad.
"There was an embrace between Virgil van Dijk and Dan Burn," he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "Van Dijk stood at the Newcastle huddle - he went around and shook every player's hand."
Warnock added: "He respected what Newcastle have done today. Class. A sign of respect for Newcastle."
Arne Slot was also spotted giving each Newcastle player a hand-slap before they went to collect their medals.
