Liverpool “Bitterly Disappointed” Following League Cup Final Defeat
Caoimhin Kelleher believes the Reds could have played better—and also that they ran as hard as they could. So it goes for a clearly exhausted group.
It’s one thing to lose a game, especially a title game, feeling that you were outplayed by a better side. That you did all you could and came up short against superior opposition. It’s another thing entirely to lose a game, especially a title game, and to end the night feeling like you simply didn’t perform.
That you played through all the matchweeks and rounds before, put in the work day to day and week to week to make it to the final hurdle, and then lost as you didn’t deliver the kind of performance you’d proven you were capable of. So went Liverpool’s League Cup final defeat on Sunday against Newcastle.
“We’re bitterly disappointed,” said goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher of his side’s 2-1 cup final defeat. “It’s tough to take. I think we know ourselves that we could perform better, which probably makes it that bit extra hard to take. To be fair to the lads, they ran as hard as we could, we just came up a bit short.”
That Liverpool’s players ended the day thinking they could have played far better while also feeling as though they’d run as hard as they could might seem mutually exclusive. For a side that has seen a number of key players already exceed their minutes played in the 2023-24 season, though, it makes more sense.
Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ibrahima Konaté, and Ryan Gravenberch have all already played more in 2024-25 than last season. Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister seem certain to also pass last year’s total workload before the season is over.
Fortunately for Liverpool, a 12 point advantage in the Premier League seems more than enough cushion even for an exhausted side, but most seasons—including last, which saw Liverpool in first with only three fewer points at this stage—the race would be tighter and an exhausted side would be in trouble.
“It’s been a tough week for us but maybe the internationals come at a good time for us now to get away,” Kelleher added. “Just clear our heads and come back refreshed and ready to go in two weeks. Big things to play for when we get back, so we’ll be ready to go.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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