“Liverpool have nothing left” - Reds icon Steve Nicol shares ‘realisation’ after Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle

Following Liverpool's 1-2 loss to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final on Sunday (March 16), the players have come under severe criticism for the lack of energy and effort. Club legend Steve Nicol also joined the bandwagon, asserting that the 'physically superior' Magpies rolled over Arne Slot's hapless side.

Italian forward Federico Chiesa's late strike (90+4') was a mere footnote as goals from Dan Burn (45') and Alexander Isak (52') sealed Newcastle's first domestic title in 70 years. Eddie Howe's side created several chances in attack and stayed compact at the back, keeping the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz in check throughout the game.

At full-time, Nicol lamented the overloaded fixture schedule that left the Merseyside outfit drained before the game. They were coming off a 120-minute affair against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. The Reds lost the game in penalties (4-1) after drawing 1-1 on aggregate.

The former Scottish full-back, who made 458 appearances for Liverpool between 1982 and 1995, said (via ESPN FC):

"Having watched the game and thinking about what's happened in the last couple of weeks, I kind of come to the realisation that Liverpool have nothing left to be quite honest. Newcastle, on the other side of the coin, went about it the right way. They swarmed over Liverpool, never let them play out from the back, made them kick it long."

"Newcastle shouldn't have been hanging on at the end of this game. They were miles ahead of Liverpool, who just didn't have the legs in order to be anywhere close to their best. Newcastle deserved to win and more than anything, they went about it the right way. They were just physically superior and it showed. Newcastle were first to every second ball and Liverpool struggled from start to finish," Nicol added.

Although Liverpool are out of contention in the FA Cup and UCL, the Reds remain favorite to win the English Premier League, sitting 12 points clear of Arsenal atop the table (70 points in 29 games).

---

"We were outplayed in style" - Liverpool boss Arne Slot makes claim about EFL Cup final loss vs Newcastle United

Liverpool manager Arne Slot dismissed any claims of his side suffering from fatigue in their 1-2 loss to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final. The Dutchman admitted that his side were 'outplayed in style' by the Magpies, who ended their long-standing trophy drought in commanding fashion.

Speaking after the game, Slot stated (via GOAL):

"Mentally, it’s always difficult to judge. Were we on Tuesday, mentally or physically tired? No. But this game had nothing to do with running; this game had only to do with playing duels, and there was no intensity in terms of running in this game at all."

"So you cannot even judge it if we were tired yes or no, physically, because we could not press them... But there was nothing to press because they played over our press. We were outplayed in their style, yeah, that’s true. They deserved to win, but it wasn’t like we were only running after them," Slot added.

The Reds will next be seen in action against Everton in a mouth-watering Merseyside Derby fixture in the Premier League on April 2.