Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has told Sports Mole that he would rather get straight back into action next week as opposed to waiting for the international break to end following his side's gut-wrenching EFL Cup final loss to Newcastle United.
There was jubilation for Eddie Howe's men and dejection for the Premier League leaders under the Wembley arch on Sunday afternoon, where Newcastle ended their agonising 70-year wait for another major honour by deservedly sinking the Reds 2-1.
Dan Burn's header and Alexander Isak's finish - just a couple of minutes after the Swede had a goal disallowed - preceded an injury-time Federico Chiesa strike, one that came far too late to spark a sensational turnaround.
Liverpool's coaching staff can now take a two-week reset during the international break, but Slot is not of the view that national team fixtures will be of complete benefit to his side, who do not play again until they host Merseyside rivals Everton on April 2.
Asked by Sports Mole whether the hiatus was coming at a good time, Slot replied: "We are 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.
"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.
"So I would have loved to play next week, but now the situation is that they go to the national teams, where they have to play two more games again, and 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."
The worst week of Slot's Liverpool career
© Imago
Barely a week ago, Liverpool had aspirations of a terrific treble under Slot, who would have undoubtedly cemented his name into Anfield folklore by collecting three winners' medals in his first season.
However, despite what the Premier League table and most of their top-flight performances would suggest, the Reds are not invincible, as both Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain have proven over the past few days.
Liverpool could have had few complaints about either knockout elimination too, and with their big-hitters on the field for both defeats, it begs whether this overworked group of players are simply running out of steam.
After PSG's lightning attack ran Liverpool ragged, the Reds barely had a sniff at Wembley, and the 2-1 scoreline arguably flattered Slot's side, who well and truly ceded their EFL Cup title with a whimper.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's absence clearly hit Liverpool hard - they are just not the same side without the right-back's unrivalled passing range - but at the same time, a lack of rotation appears to be catching up to the league leaders.
Do not expect the EFL Cup runners-up to be perfect for the rest of the Premier League season - the only crown they have left to fight for - but Reds fans should not worry about an astonishing title collapse.
Arsenal remain 12 points behind on the same number of games and will play the rest of the season with no recognised striker, so while the past week may have been incredibly painful for Liverpool, their status as Premier League champions-elect is surely not under threat.
Ben Knapton
