Liverpool moved a step closer to defending their Carabao Cup crown on Thursday night.
The Reds overcame a 1-0 deficit on aggregate to hammer Tottenham 4-0 in front of a raucous Anfield crowd as Arne Slot’s men displayed some of their best football this season. The victory saw Liverpool equal a 131-year-old record, something they will look to continue adding to.
The Premier League leaders will now face Newcastle in the final on March 16 and will hope that victory on that day can kickstart their journey towards even more glory.
Slot has named one downside to reaching the Carabao Cup final as fixture congestion will start to become a problem for his team.
Nevertheless, the Dutch coach was very impressed with his team against Tottenham and picked out one thing that ‘stood out’ to him during their 4-0 win.
Arne Slot impressed by the work rate of his Liverpool team
Liverpool were good on many fronts against Tottenham in their Carabao Cup semi-final contest but one thing that stood out was the fact that the Reds didn’t give Ange Postecoglou’s team a sniff.
The Merseyside club dominated possession with 64% while limiting the North London outfit to just five shots, none of which were on target.
Slot’s team ran their socks off out of possession to give Tottenham as little time as possible to think and speaking in his post-match press conference, that is what seemed to impress the Dutch coach the most.
‘I think I am not saying anything strange that Tottenham are conceding goals because they have so many injury problems, but they are always able to score goals as well and create a lot,’ Slot told the media on Thursday night.
‘For us to be so aggressive without the ball that it took them 80 minutes to have their first shot on target doesn’t tell you anything about Tottenham, that should tell you a lot about our work rate without the ball. That is what stood out for me.’
Slot’s men travel to Plymouth next on Sunday as Liverpool try to book their place in the next round of the FA Cup.
Squad rotation will likely be seen as that will be key to the Merseyside club going forward if they are to continue working this hard without the ball.
Squad management will be key to Arne Slot’s success at Liverpool
Slot made several changes to his team for the Tottenham clash, some of which were enforced. Conor Bradley impressed for Liverpool at right-back, while Darwin Nunez ran his socks off for his Dutch coach.
Nunez has been linked with a move away from Liverpool this summer but showed that he can be a useful weapon as the Reds continue to fight on all fronts.
Players like this will be just as important to Liverpool’s success this season as the preferred starting 11 Slot often chooses to pick come matchday.
Rotation will be key to avoiding burnout throughout the remainder of the current term, which was what saw the 2021/22 and 2023/24 campaigns fail to reach their potential.
Working like dogs off the ball has and will continue to bring Liverpool success throughout the remainder of the campaign but it is also a feature of Slot’s team that the Reds boss needs to keep an eye on.
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